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.

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.