FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 has saved $529,000 for one year by having its own day treatment programs in the district, Superintendent Tom Ward said.

The school board is considering three options to restructure the program for the 2015-16 school year. The option chosen is expected to be included in the overall proposed $32 million budget. The board is seeking public input on the budget at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, in the Forum at Mt. Blue Campus in Farmington.

The goal of day treatment is to support the mental health needs of students, help students regulate their behavior and move back into the general education center, according to district information.

There are 30 students in the day treatment programs at a cost of $671,651. There are four students placed outside the district for services at a cost of $189,700, including $25,700 for transportation. Transportation for the other three students is included in their tuition, Ward said.

It comes to $835,651.

If the district had to place half of the 30 students served in-house outside the district, the cost would be $615,000. There would be $250,000 for transportation and the cost of the four being served at $164,000. In addition, 15 students would still be served in the district day treatment programs at a cost of $335,820. The total cost is $1.36 million.

The three options the board is reviewing for the program includes Option 3, which is to leave things the way they are with four programs. There is a kindergarten through second-grade program at Mallett School in Farmington, a kindergarten through sixth-grade program at Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon, a grades three through six program at Cascade Brook School in Farmington and a grade seven through 12 program at Mt. Blue Campus in Farmington

Option 1 is to have two programs at two schools where children, depending on the grade they are in, would attend the programs in Farmington. There would be a program for grades kindergarten through six at Cascade Brook School and one for grades seven through 12 at Mt. Blue Campus.

“What we think makes the most sense is Option 2,” Ward said.

The second option is having day treatment programs for grades kindergarten through two at Mallett School; grades three to six at Cascade Brook School; and grades seven through 12 at Mt. Blue Campus.

The positives for this option are lower caseloads for social workers, student inclusion, better use of educational technicians/support and the sharing and efficient use of resources, according to the district’s information.

The negative is the the loss of about 20 minutes of instructional time while Cape Cod Hill School students travel to Farmington.

There are three social workers already in the budget, Ward said. There is a need for a full-time day treatment program coordinator that would work half time in that position and half time as a social worker. It is recommended there be one social worker for each program or one per 10 students, he said.

This person would also do the billing to get reimbursed from MaineCare for eligible services provided to students. That would eliminate the need to hire a billing clerk, he said.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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