GREENFIELD — Unpredictable costs of sending special education students out of district has the School Department facing a mid-year $850,000 budget crunch, according to administrators.
Business Manager Howard Barber said Tuesday that the district is working to bridge the gap by cutting the budget and preparing a supplemental money request to the Town Council.
As of Tuesday, Barber said, the district has been able to make up about half of the shortfall by making adjustments within the budget. It was not immediately clear where in the budget cuts are planned.
Barber said the gap has been caused by students with higher special education needs than the district can accommodate in house. Their needs became known after this school year’s budget was set.
The department is responsible for paying the cost of educating all of the students who live in town, Barber said, and depending on the level of the student’s individual needs, the cost for educating them out of district at specialized facilities can be high.
“Between last year and today, there was a transition of additional students that had to be placed out-of-district, or in-district students that have one-to-one (aides), for whatever the circumstances, transition into a different situation where they can’t be managed inside the school,” Barber said.
For instance, he explained, an out-of-district student with lower needs could cost $40,000, while a higher-needs student could cost more than $200,000. The average cost to educate a student in Greenfield is about $14,000.
On top of that, the department is also required to pay for any costs associated with transporting the student to and from the out-of-district school or facility, he said.
Sometimes, out-of-district students who return to the department’s schools can help reduce the expense, Barber said.
Barber said the department plans to ask Town Council to approve supplemental funding to help make up the difference, and to create a special stabilization fund to help cushion the impact of unanticipated out-of-district costs in future years.
Mayor William Martin also asked the School Committee earlier this month to direct the administration to craft a brief report on the impact of out-of-district student costs on the department, which could be sent to the state government and Legislature with a request to “radically change the funding formulas that are currently in use.”
Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth Pratt, who is acting superintendent while Superintendent Jordana Harper is on maternity leave, said Tuesday that three new teachers whose jobs were eliminated within their 90-day probationary period at three of the department’s schools were personnel decisions not directly related to the budgetary concerns, but couldn’t say whether their positions would be refilled.
“That’ll be looked at as we move forward,” she said.
She noted the administration is working to shift resources around to accommodate financial challenges.
“We’re making sure we’re being fiscally responsible,” she said.
You can reach Tom Relihan at: 413-772-0261, ext. 264
or trelihan@recorder.com