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| Special-education revamp aims to serve more locally, save money |
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These shifts could result in $400,000 saved for next year's school budget, Mark Ryder, director of special education, told the School Committee on April 14. The move toward this new direction began in 2005 under then-Superintendent Nate Levenson after the state lodged complaints against the Arlington public schools for the way the Donovan administration had delivered special-education services. Ryder is giving shape to the fresh stance. Ryder's update -- made at the request of the School Committee, interim Superintendent Kathleen Bodie said -- provided the following current numbers, which highlight how Arlington’s situation compares to the one statewide; 925 students served by programs paid for by the Arlington public schools have individual education plans, known as IEPs. An unspecified number are in private schools. Of those 925, 108 participate in nearly 70 programs based outside of Arlington. {mosimage}The goal of the reorganization is to provide more services within Arlington. "It's better for the students," Ryder said. It also would save money. For the current fiscal year, the costs of tuition and transportation for special-education students is projected at $6 million, he said. Ryder compared state and local numbers. Statewide, the percentage of students receiving special-education services is 16.9; in Arlington, the percentage is 19.9. A breakdown among Arlington public schools shows the following percentages among school populations: Arlington High School (23.3), Ottoson (19.8) and at the seven elementary schools a range from 9.8 to 18.6. Statewide, the percentage of out-of-district's placements stands at 6.5 percent, while in Arlington, that percent is 12. The revamp aims to change these numbers to embrace more students drawn to in-town programs. The plan to do that involves gathering the nine town schools into five clusters and adding support staff to address needs. The proposal is to have 5.25 professional learning specialists and 5.65 paraprofessionals -- at a cost of $600,000. Asked by Vice Chair Denise Burns whether the plan would increase the school budget, Ryder said the plan would revenue-neutral. Committee member Ron Spangler noted the $400,000 savings from the reorganization, which is listed in the fiscal 2010 budget plan. The $200,000 difference would presumably come from further federal stimulus aid. If it does, Spangler asked whether any "strings" were attached to the money that might make that a problem. Sue Mazzarella, the schools' chief financial officer, called such of federal money "a perfect fit." Member Jeff Thielman asked whether, in the next five years, Arlington could reduce its numbers of special-education students, including out-of-district placements, to reflect the state percentages. Ryder nodded in agreement. Thielman asked what annual saving the schools might realize through the reorganization, and Ryder estimated $50,000 to $80,000. Spangler said that the planned changes did not represent "a pot of money," but, he said, it "will stem the bleeding." Apart from the budget impact, planned changes may be affecting the parents of special-education students. Working through Arlington SEPAC, some of them filed a complaint in March with the state, objecting to a number of items. Ryder took over the special-education last July. Before coming to Arlington, he was director of special education and school development specialist for Becket Programs of Maine, which is part of a New England-based program known as Becket Family of Services. |
| Last Updated ( Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:42 ) |
More services "inhouse," fewer beyond our borders -- in a nutshell, that is how special education aims to change for the Arlington public schools.
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