Bristol, CT: Budget deficit; "one of the areas with the most concern was the SPED portion"

Feb 2, 2018, Southington, CT, Bristol Observer: Series of events led to BOE budget deficit http://bristolobserver.com/2018/02/02/series-of-events-led-to-boe-budget-deficit/ Accounting firm Blum Shapiro presented a forensic audit of the Board of Education to the Board of Finance on Tuesday, Jan. 22. The City of Bristol commissioned the audit after the BOE experienced year-end deficits for school years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. … One of the areas with the most concern was the special education portion of the budget. Special education stood as three separate “findings” outlined in the report. Ziplow stated Bristol is not unique in their struggle of budgeting Special Education funding, saying that those funds are “money that, essentially, the city has no control over.”… In regards to the next finding, “Evaluation and Analysis of Special Education Invoices”, Blum Shapiro recommends that the district hire a special education accountant. The report states that the duties of this person would include the contracts of each special education student, ensuring the required services and costs “align with contracts and student enrollment”, and that they would be responsible for monitoring all of the costs associated with special education.