Apr 10, 2019, Bangor (ME) Daily News: Higher special education costs could have Bangor taxpayers paying more for schools https://bangordailynews.com/2019/04/10/news/bangor/higher-special-education-costs-could-have-bangor-taxpayers-paying-more-for-schools/ Even though Bangor expects more school aid from the state next academic year, the city’s school budget may still require local taxpayers to chip in more. The main reason is an increase in the school system’s special education costs, as a large portion of the city’s incoming kindergarten class will require special education services, Superintendent Betsy Webb said. The Bangor School Committee has recently heard presentations on the school department’s proposal for the 2019-20 budget, and Bangor voters will ultimately weigh in on the spending plan at the polls June 11. Altogether, the Bangor School Department is proposing a 3.7 percent increase over the current year’s budget. That equates to a $1.7 million increase, bringing the total budget to $48.3 million. The special education portion of the budget accounts for more than half of that increase. With the larger student population needing special education, the school department needs to hire nine educational technicians and two teachers for the upcoming school year, Webb said. “This is a much larger increase than we’ve seen for special education,” she said. The school department is required to provide special education services to those students deemed eligible for them under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. While Bangor expects about $923,000 more in aid from the state than it’s receiving this year, the growth in the special education budget — an 11 percent jump that equates to $863,000 — means much of that increase is already spoken for. Under Gov. Janet Mills’ budget proposal, the Department of Education estimates Bangor will receive $19.1 million in state aid for the 2019-20 school year. ….
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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