Special education cuts sting

Districts scramble to fund the balance

Local officials are knocking Governor Deval Patrick's decision to slash $13.5 million from the state budget used to fund special education, saying they must now pick up the tab even though they are already struggling with dwindling revenues.

Along with other reductions in state payments this year, the hit to special education came as a shock, especially to local officials in cash-strapped communities already feeling the poor economy's pinch.

"I never, ever thought special education would be part of the governor's cuts," said Mayor Edward C. Caulfield of Lowell. "It's a disappointment."

Along with skyrocketing healthcare, energy, and pension costs, special education represents a large and growing portion of a municipal budget. By law, special education students must receive services. So when the state slices reimbursement for the costs, the local communities find themselves with yet another bill.

"What's frustrating is, in special edu cation, we can't say: 'I'm sorry, we've run out of money this year. You'll have to wait until next year,' " said Dr. Linda B. Stapp, director of pupil services in Winchester.

"This is an entitlement. We have no choice."

The $13.5 million reduction comes out of the so-called circuit-breaker program, which uses a complex formula to reimburse communities for some out-of-district tuition costs for special education. This year, reimbursement was set at 75 percent of the costs, but communities will get only 72 percent under Patrick's austerity plan.

Tuition at special-needs schools can be pricey. For example, on the low end, Seven Hills Foundation Inc. of Groton, charges a daily rate of $195.71 for some students, while at Germaine Lawrence School of Arlington, the per-day rate is $430.09, according to the website of the state Operational Services Division, which oversees procurement.

The cut in the circuit-breaker program will mean less money for many. In Dracut, for example, officials pegged the cost of this year's tuition for 32 special needs students at $2.2 million, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. But with the cut, the district's reimbursement will be $28,000 less, a difference that represents about the annual salary of a school paraprofessional, said Dracut's executive director of special education, Steven Stone.

Stone said the town budgeted conservatively, using lower reimbursement numbers in anticipation of possible budget cuts.

Still, he said, there are other ways in which Patrick's cutbacks will bite into local programs.

For example, he said, a grant for professional development for special education teachers, already cut in half to $13,000, will be axed altogether next year if no other funding is found.

Moreover, the town is arguing with the Department of Children and Families over which residential schools to use for individual children with disabilities. The argument is over whether the students should be placed in a program that will get the higher circuit-breaker rate in reimbursement or one that will yield less, he said.

"We are in a heated battle with DCF over children not yet placed, but they want the [town's share] locked in," Stone said.

Stone said he worries that next year the state will eliminate money for programs for special-needs students, such as audiology, speech and language, occupational therapy, and vision services.

This year, the state purged $2 million in grants for collaboration among communities on transporting students to and from out-of-district schools, said Jonathan Considine, a state education spokesman.

It is not yet clear how the loss will affect one such grouping, the LABBB Collaborative, which constitutes Lexington, Arlington, Burlington, Bedford, and Belmont.

"We're just waiting to see the fallout," said Burlington Town Manager Robert A. Mercier.

Financing and direction for another, the SEEM Collaborative, which has Winchester and Stoneham among members, "are all in flux," said Winchester's Stapp.

Educators are keeping a wary eye on the future.

In Lowell, which put a price tag of $7.4 million for 109 special-needs students in out-of-district schools, local officials are expecting future cuts in local aid funding for general government and the schools.

"We're all keeping our fingers crossed" that will not happen, Caulfield said.

Still, Chris A. Scott, Lowell's school superintendent, said she understands "there is no money out there."

And Tyngsborough superintendent Darrell Lockwood, who earlier this month had to lay off four special education professionals, said he is bracing for the possibility that voters will eliminate the income tax at the ballot box in November - a measure sure to freeze up much more education funding.

"That will be huge," he said. "You can't put your head in the sand."

Connie Paige can be reached at connie_paige@yahoo.com.