Special Education Funding Now!!

Let’s be clear about the issues:

* When Northfield Schools established budgets for this year (2006-07) we made reasnable projections for all line items. We did pretty well except for special education costs. New enrollments over the summer shattered our assumptions. (For example, at the high school alone 10 more students with IEPs were registered, some with severe needs.) We must and want to serve these students, but the additional costs are crushing. Special education costs in Northfield this year are 9.4% above projections of our budgets.

* For every dollar spent on special education in Northfield, we only receive PART reimbursement. This reflects continuing reductions in dollars from state and federal sources. The formulas are very complicated, but let’s give an example. When we hire a new special education teacher, as we have had to do this year, and total compensation for that teacher is $54,000.  We can expect to recover less than half that amount from special education funds that flow through from the State. (Contact me for more detail on this if you really want to have more detail!!)  Since the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, the federal government has promised to provide 40% of the excess costs of special education.  That promise has never been fulfilled.  This current year federal funds will account for approximately 17.5% of the excess costs.  So let’s agree that a major part of the problem is the broken promise from Washington.
* And here is the kicker: For all the money spent on special education (a 10% increase per year) the reimbursements come TWO YEARS later! This is an unacceptable lag time

LEGISLATORS:

1. Address the lag time. Reimburse real time expenditures. Stop the two year lag in reimbursement!!

2. Reimburse ALL the extra costs of special education, not just part.  Even the part that was promised would be better than what we have now.

Addressing special education costs is far more important than looking at some kind of reimbursement scheme pegged to the MDA Report Care Start Ratings. The Star Ratings are a broad indicator of success, but are subject to many statistical aberrations. So start talking about special education costs and don’t pass go without doing something about this. The Northfield School Board has been diligent about cutting every possible line item and is ready to come out of Statutory Operating Debt, but special education funding issues make this a very precarious and tenuous victory.