Buffalo finance briefing: central office headcount clarified, school‑closure work to stay with superintendent and cabinet

Chief Barnes led the finance presentation and clarified several items board members flagged in questioning: the central office staffing number under discussion is 50 positions, not 45, and school‑closure planning will be handled by the superintendent and cabinet rather than reconstituting the former volunteer closure committee. "It was always 50," a district speaker responded when a board member said her notes showed 45.

Board member Wright and others asked whether the district planned to hire outside consultants to run facility/closure analyses. District staff said the superintendent and cabinet would do the initial work internally to manage costs and confidentiality, with consultants as a secondary option depending on needs and funds.

Officials discussed special‑education funding streams and reimbursements at length. District staff described a private high‑cost tuition process in which the district pays agency tuition (example figure used in discussion was $10,000) and submits invoices through a state portal, and then receives roughly 80% of that expenditure back in the following year. The district also reported increases in Medicaid‑related reimbursements: "we got it up to a little over 4.9 million," a district official said, up from a historical $4 million.

The presentation also included preliminary discussion of a clinical hub at School 27 to serve students with severe needs. Chief Baticelli said committee recommendations favor starting with one clinic or hub and phasing capacity over time; the price tag mentioned in discussion ranged around $1.2–1.5 million. Board members asked how many students would be served, and district staff said capacity would be phased in and is being capped during an initial rollout.

Board members asked clarifying operational questions about transportation savings tied to potential closures, timing for bringing recommendations to the board (October–December window was cited) and how Medicaid and special‑education reimbursements interact with other revenue streams. District staff said some Medicaid‑reimbursable services include physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech, and that capturing billable services depends on providers logging expenditures in the state's system.

Next steps: the superintendent and cabinet will continue internal analysis on closures, return timetable and more precise budget estimates to the board for approval.