Special Education Finance Beverly Public Schools December, 2010

What makes financing special education so hard?  Nature of special ed.: entitlement program  Ages 3 through 22  Competing interests (DCF,DMH,DDS)  Decreased funding for social services  Finite resources-decreased supports-increased costs  Unfunded mandates  Unpredictability: You never really know what your costs will be You never really know who will move into the district You never know what students are going to need emergency services

Vicious Cycle Less $ for reg.classrooms Larger class size; less support Can’t address student needs Increased referrals Increased enrollments More out of district More $ for tuition Increased special ed. costs

Special Education Increasing Enrollments What’s feeding the special ed. system? Increasing Costs Increasing Mental Health Needs Decreased Social Service Funding Lack of Adequate Resources Unfunded Mandates

Increased In-District Demands  Dedicated nursing needs/related therapies  Specialized programs are at capacity  Significant mental health concerns at all levels  Increased number of psychiatric hospitalizations  Increased home hospital tutoring needs  Increased number of young students at significant risk (Pre K-3)  Number of specialized foster placements increasing

Unpredicted Increases FY11  Private School “frozen rates” were increased.75% retroactive to July 1, 2010  Planned Collaborative increases of 2% actually averaged 3%  Circuit Breaker reimbursement – 38%?

Unpredicted New Placements July 1, November 15, students required unplanned out of district placements 2 legal agreements 5 move ins 3 students return to district –fiscal responsibility. 7 unexpected placements due to significant mental health and behavioral issues. Total Expense – $ 631,459.00

Special Education Expenditures