May 30, 2018, Danbury (CT) News Times: Brookfield finance board tackles third budget proposal https://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Brookfield-finance-board-tackles-third-budget-12955924.php …Under the second version of the budget, town spending would have increased 0.75 percent, while school spending would have increased 4.7 percent. Overall spending would have risen 3.5 percent and the property tax rate would have increased 4.7 percent. Most of the hike in the school budget has been attributed to a rise in special education costs, cuts to state aid and contractual salary increases.
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.