Needs,
funding clash in schools
Federal cash doesn't keep up with
mandates, officials say
Sunday, October 09, 2005 • By MEGAN ZARODA •
The Express-Times
When it comes to the biggest issue facing
special education today, only one answer evokes sighs, eye
rolls and mumbles.
Funding.
By law, school districts are required to
provide a free and appropriate education for its students
with disabilities. That includes all programs, services and
support students need to obtain that education.
Yet educators say federal and state
funding never covers the cost of special education, and in
many cases the bulk of the cost falls on local
taxpayers.
Education administrators across the
nation say it costs slightly more than $6,000 to educate the
average student. But to educate the average student with a
disability, the cost jumps to between $12,000 and
$16,000.
"Each child has their own price tag
attached to them," said Margie DeRenzis, director of
autistic support at Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 in Forks
Township.
DeRenzis says the average cost per year
to educate an autistic student is about $23,000.
The highest expenses identified by
officials at the intermediate unit, which offers
consolidated support to school districts, are special
transportation, one-on-one assistance and adaptive
equipment.
Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 provides
services to 13 school districts in Northampton and Lehigh
counties. It oversees and provides for 27 autistic support
classes, three deaf and hard-of-hearing classes, 20 life
skills classes, 20 early intervention classes, 15 emotional
support classes, 20 partial hospitalizations and 16 for
mentally retarded students.
The agency receives $13 million in
federal funds -- not nearly enough to cover the full cost of
teaching these children. The rest must be supplemented
through state and local money, said Gail Vogel, director of
special education at the I.U.
According to the 2005-2006 education
budget prepared by Pennsylvania, the state is allocating 2.5
percent more funding for special education than last year,
increasing the appropriation to more than $929
million.
An additional $20.5 million is being
allocated to maintain the district's base
supplements.
Colonial Intermediate Unit is slotted to
receive $964,868 of the state's base supplement. School
districts will see about a 3 percent increase in
funding.
New Jersey does not distribute funds
through intermediate units; the money goes directly to
school districts.
Districts in Warren County are set to
receive $10,225,494, according to the New Jersey Department
of Education.
Warren Hills Regional School District
would receive the most in the county, taking in $1,372,469
from the state. It is the only district in Warren County to
receive more than $1 million.
Hunterdon County schools would get
$13,813,428 from the state.
Four districts in Hunterdon are receiving
funding over the $1 million mark: Clinton Township,
Hunterdon Central Regional, Hunterdon/Voorhees Regional and
Readington Township.
New Jersey is also preparing to allocate
$2,110,642 to the Flemington-Raritan Regional School
District.
Easton Area School District projects a
$10 million-plus budget for special education, according to
a 2005-2006 budget proposal posted online. That is a 3.81
percent increase from last school year.
An increase in student enrollment,
contracted services and unfunded mandates and obligations
are what district officials indicate are factors influencing
the increased budget.
Unfunded mandates are programs state and
federal governments say local districts must provide their
students. However, state and federal officials provide no
money to pay for them.
This year, Easton will see 35 incoming
preschool children identified with special needs and 67
newly identified students in the district, according to the
budget report.
According to the budget proposal, there
is also a zero percent increase in locally controlled costs,
forcing a moratorium on expanding programs while at the same
time cutting supplies, programs and materials.
In the Northampton Area School District,
budget restraints have forced cuts of one special education
teacher and a special education program coordinator,
according to the district's online budget.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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