house✓ Signed
Appropriates $10,312,300 for the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind for fiscal year 2017.
This is the FY 2017 appropriation to the Public Schools Support Program Division of Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind in the amount of $10,312,300. This is a 16.9% increase from the General Fund and 16.4% overall. This appropriation provides for increased cost of benefits, one-time replacement items to replace a school bus and two sedans, the equivalent of a 3% change in employee compensation and an increase in endowment funds. This budget includes ten line items. Line item 1 provides $79,200 to hire one campus instructor certified for elementary aged children who are blind and visually impaired. Line item 2 provides $39,600 from the General Fund for one-half of the costs to hire an assistive technology specialist in the campus program to address the growing need for expertise in the field of blind and low-vision education. The other half of these costs are found in line item #11. Line item 3 provides $79,200 to hire one campus instructor certified for elementary aged children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Line item 4 provides $3,000 one-time from the General Fund to purchase new textbooks for the middle-school math and health curricula. Line item 6 provides $350,000 one-time to replenish the school's contingency fund. Line item 7 provides $79,200 to hire a sign language interpreter to help staff communicate with schooldistrictpersonnelandfamilieswhoareinexperiencedinsignlanguage. Lineitem8provides $79,200 to hire an outreach educator to address a growing number of students receiving services who are located at school districts and charter schools. Line item 10 provides $15,000 ongoing from the General Fund for professional development for all certificated staff educators. Line item 11provides$39,600forone-halfofcostsofhiringanassistivetechnologyspecialistintheoutreach program. The other one-half of the funding is included in line item 2. Line item 12 provides $189,500 to reopen a campus cottage to address increasing enrollment. Of this amount, $17