July 22, 2018, North Andover (MA) Eagle Tribune: Surging costs prompt new approach to school funding http://www.eagletribune.com/news/surging-costs-prompt-new-approach-to-school-funding/article_2b4eb7e4-8c55-11e8-bdaf-27be3845c80f.html … Last week, the House approved spending $500 million over the next five years to help districts better cover the costs of special education and employee health care. ... Special education costs contributed to a nearly $4 million school budget deficit in Methuen last year. ... In fiscal 2018, the district covered costs for 136 special needs students in residential, private day or collaborative programs -- about 25 more students than during the prior year. About 1,400 students are also on individualized education programs. The district serves about 7,200 students. [19% are SPED] By April, Scannell said the district had exceeded its roughly $7.5 million budget for special education services, resulting in a nearly $4 million deficit. Communities cannot legally run a deficit for any budget item besides snow and ice removal, so Methuen officials are now working to submit a home rule petition to the Legislature that would allow the city to borrow in order to cover the deficit. The plan differs from a Senate proposal approved in May, which included funds for those two groups of students…. The commission found the state’s approach to education funding woefully underestimating costs for school districts…. In the meantime, education officials in many districts say costs of special education —- for students with autism spectrum disorders, for example, or who have emotional problems -- have risen sharply. Districts are legally obliged to provide services to those students, and many have cut budgets in other areas as both need and costs have risen. The pains of special education costs — along with some of the widest gaps in education funding — are felt in school districts that serve gateway cities such as Salem, Peabody, Methuen and Haverhill. … "Districts are struggling to do what they can with the resources they have to educate students," Scott said. "But the law is clear. They don't have a choice." Out-of-District Costs (2016-17) Rank School District Out of District Costs 1 Boston $234.1 million 2 Springfield $68 million 3 Worcester $51.6 million 4 Lawrence $34.4 million 17 Haverhill $16.3 million 26 Methuen $11.8 million 45 Andover $8.0 million 57 North Andover $7.0 million 176 North Reading $2.4 million 257 Greater Lawrence Regional $531,000 296 Whittier Regional $83,000 State Total $1.7 billion…
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