The statute directing the Education Department to prepare an annual report on BOCES requested that costs for selected programs be provided for two years.  Therefore, information is being provided on the tuition costs for career and technical education and selected special education classes, costs for selected related services for special education students and costs for selected itinerant services for the 2004-2005 school year and the 2005-2006 school year.  Information is also included on: alternative education, distance learning, and substitute teacher coordination. The first charts display the career and technical education tuition for the two school years.

            Every BOCES in the State operates a career and technical education program on behalf of the component districts.  Career and technical education is the fourth largest program of BOCES, averaging about 14 percent of all service expenditures.  In addition to general education students in grades 11 and 12, most BOCES also provide career and technical skills for special needs students, and operate large programs for adults, both to enhance current job skills and to develop new ones.  Many BOCES operate a vocational program at the request of their districts for their adult residents.  BOCES also do training on behalf of industry and the Federal government.  All career and technical education programs, except those for in-school students, are self-sustaining.  That is, the individual adult pays directly for the course, or grant funds or employer reimbursements fund the program.  Only in-school students may attend BOCES without payment, and it is only the expense for their attendance which generates BOCES Aid.

            School districts are legally obligated to provide career and technical education as a part of the curriculum.  If a district decides to use the BOCES program, as most do, any qualified student in grades 11 and 12 who wishes to enroll in career and technical education at BOCES must be permitted to do so.  Districts may not establish quotas or otherwise limit participation.

            Both the numbers of pupils enrolling and the tuition for their attendance varies throughout the State.  Costs vary, in part, because of the difference in costs for salaries, utilities and facilities between downstate and upstate.  BOCES in rural, sparsely populated areas may have some higher career and technical education costs if they operate multiple career and technical education centers.  In order to keep travel time reasonable for students attending BOCES classes, two or more centers may be operated, although the number of students being educated is such that one center would be sufficient.

            Some BOCES with a very small student base, even if operating only one center, will have higher costs.  There is a core of career and technical education programs which a BOCES has to operate if it is going to meet the varying interests and abilities of the students electing to receive career and technical education training.  If the BOCES reduces its programs to a handful of programs to save money, student enrollment will likely drop because there won't be sufficient variety to attract students.  So, in order to meet student needs, the BOCES may, in some cases, sacrifice economy of scale.

            Each BOCES determines what activities will be included in the general career and technical education tuition and which will be charged separately.  Some BOCES include a counseling component in their program while others do not.  For example, many BOCES provide remediation, especially in math and science skills.  This activity may be part of the career and technical education tuition in some BOCES; while in others it may be a separate activity and charged accordingly.  Other aspects of a career and technical education program, which may be part of the tuition in one BOCES but billed as a separate activity in another, include the summer portion of the cosmetology course and the introduction to career and technical education course.  Therefore, as with administration and capital operations, if the tuition rates in two BOCES are different, it should not be assumed that the career and technical education program in one BOCES is operated more or less efficiently in one than another.

            Special education is provided by every BOCES.  The budget is the largest category of expenditure, averaging 40 percent of total services.  Data on the following pages relate to four types of BOCES special education programs and services: special class professional staff to pupil to paraprofessional ratio of 1:12:1, 1:6:1, 1:8:1 and 1:12:3. Selected related services which support instruction are also reported.  In accordance with statute and regulations, the Committee on Special Education in each school district determines the level of educational instruction and related services for each student with a disability.  School districts request BOCES to operate shared programs where the district has too few special needs students of similar age to operate its own program at an acceptable cost, or the special needs of the students are such that they can be more effectively addressed in a separate setting. 

            In many BOCES the programs for these students are located in school districts to promote interaction with age appropriate non-disabled peers.  While the teachers and assisting personnel are BOCES employees, in many respects they become part of the regular district faculty.  The rent for the special education classrooms located in the component school is not part of the tuition.  By statute, rental costs must be in the capital budget.

            Special education classes are established to serve students in accordance with the class size requirements in Section 200.6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.  Students are assigned to these classes by the school district Committee on Special Education after an extensive evaluation process and a determination that such a program is appropriate to the needs of the student.

            The data on the staff to pupil ratio of 1:12:1 classes indicate almost all of the BOCES operate this class.  A 1:12:1 program is one in which the staff-to-pupil instructional group ratio (without a variance) is that of one teacher and one paraprofessional per each twelve students.  The management and instructional needs of students in this special class option, in combination with the fact a class must be comprised of students within 36 months of age of each other for students below age 16, make shared classes appropriate.

            A 1:6:1 program is one in which a staff-to-pupil ratio (without a variance) of one professional and one paraprofessional per six students is maintained. Most BOCES operate this program. A 1:8:1 staff-to-pupil ratio is staffed with one professional and one paraprofessional per eight students. About two-thirds of the BOCES have this program. The final program reported, 1:12:3, is one in which a staff-to-pupil ratio of one professional and three paraprofessionals per twelve students is maintained. Many BOCES also provide this class.

            The fact that a district is sending some special education students to BOCES does not necessarily mean that the district is not operating these programs as well.  In larger enrollment districts it is likely that the district is operating many of its own classes -- especially the 1:12:1 staff to pupil program.  However, some of their students may have intensive instructional and/or management needs which are difficult for the district to meet, or there may be too few students within an age range to operate a district class efficiently.

            Averages have been calculated by the BOCES for purposes of this report.  BOCES were requested to subtract any costs for related services in order to establish a net tuition.  In many BOCES some common related services such as speech-language pathology services are included in the base tuition charged to districts.  In others, all related services are charged separately.  Either way is acceptable, but for reporting purposes BOCES must calculate costs excluding related services.

            Costs vary among BOCES for a particular special education program, as they do for career and technical education, for similar reasons.  There is a difference in personnel costs, utilities, insurance and other items between the downstate area and the upstate region.  Some BOCES operate many special education classes in a single building on the BOCES campus, while others locate the classes in component school districts to facilitate mainstreaming.  Differences in facilities costs are not a factor because they are budgeted separately as capital expenses.  However, it is generally less costly to operate a center-based program.  Supervisory staff do not have to travel to multiple locations and support services and equipment don't have to be duplicated.

            Costs in some BOCES evidenced significant change from the 2004-2005 school year to the 2005-2006 school year in special education, both in the special education classes and in related services.  In a few cases the cost per unit in 2004-2005 was lower than in the preceding year.  The reason for the atypical change is personnel costs, which can change dramatically.  If a person with a salary of $75,000 retires and is followed by a beginning teacher with a salary of $35,000, the cost of the BOCES service fluctuates.  Special education services are very labor intensive.  Therefore, any change in personnel costs will translate to a change in the cost of services.