July 25, 2018, Burlington (VT) Patch: Burlington School Department Goes $1.7 Million Over Budget https://patch.com/massachusetts/burlington/burlington-school-department-goes-1-7-million-over-budget Burlington Public Schools overspent its budget by $1.7 million, or about 3.3%, in 2017-18. The school department will ask Town Meeting for the funding to make up the deficit. About $600,000 was for special education transportation costs, while another $200,000 came for a stipend for tutoring. The district also went $220,000 over its budget for substitute teachers and incurred higher-than-expected maintenance expenses. Superintendent Eric Conti disclosed the overspending at Tuesday night's school committee meeting. Conti attributed the problem to rising special education transportation costs, which in previous years had been covered from operating funds. But over time the deficit has built up and that option is no longer feasible. "No one likes to go to town meeting to ask for money," Conti said. "This is a problem, I don't want to say it is not, but I do think it's occurred because of significantly increasing costs in special education we've been trying to cover a bunch of ways, and I think it's just caught up with us over time."… "I've been on the school committee for a number of years and this is the first time something like this has come before me, so I was surprised," Monaco said.
top of page
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
bottom of page