Hartford, CT: Fewer students, significantly higher SPED costs

Aug 31, 2017, Hartford, CT: Yankee Institute: Number of Connecticut students drop, but education costs continue to rise http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/2017/08/number-of-connecticut-students-drop-but-education-costs-continue-to-rise/ Fewer and fewer students are enrolling in Connecticut’s schools but that hasn’t stopped education budgets from growing and per-pupil costs from sky-rocketing to previously unheard of levels, according to figures compiled by the Western Connecticut Council of Governments. ... Lavielle says that special education costs are rising rapidly. “Of course we have to provide services for these children but they are very expensive and I know a lot of superintendents are deeply, deeply worried about those costs.” A report by CT Mirror showed that special education costs for Connecticut school districts had grown significantly since 1992. The town of Darien saw a nearly 17 percent increase in special education costs and some towns are spending as much as a third of their education budget on special ed. …