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Brentwood reports special-education staffing changes and 16-seat preschool with six IEP students
Summary
District administrators told the school board that special-education staffing has been expanded and the preschool program currently enrolls 16 children, six with individualized education programs (IEPs); board members pressed administrators about tuition, inter-district arrangements and state reporting requirements.
At a regular Brentwood School Board meeting, district administrators reported new special-education support staff and provided enrollment and program details for the district preschool.
The report said the district’s Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Renee Collison, is now working two days a week (up from one day) to support behavior plans and social‑emotional interventions. The district also added Heather Chang as a contracted special‑education staff member for about 2.5 days per week, and Jenna Tilden remains the preschool teacher, the board was told.
The preschool program had 16 students at the start of the school year: seven 3‑year‑olds and nine 4‑year‑olds. Administrators said six of those 16 students have IEPs; two of the six were noted as coming from neighboring towns, Kensington and East Kingston. The board was told other towns send their related‑service staff (speech, OT) for those students; Brentwood provides classroom space, the preschool teacher and one paraprofessional. The district’s approach leaves the financial and staffing risk for enrollment level changes primarily with Brentwood: administrators said the district does not reserve seats for neighboring towns and would not hold a position elsewhere if the district’s own enrollment fills available slots.
Board members asked about tuition and per‑student cost for out‑of‑district preschool placements. Administrators referenced a flat rate charged to neighboring towns (discussed in the meeting as $2,000 per student per year), and a board member questioned whether that amount covered the district’s full per‑pupil cost. Administrators explained that towns generally supply any needed related‑service staff and transportation, and that calculating an exact per‑town share of teacher salary for one or two placed students can be difficult.
Administrators also noted the state’s expectation around early‑childhood settings: the district aims for a roughly 50–50 balance between students with IEPs and community peers in preschool so that state indicators do not show an imbalanced class composition. The board was told teacher and intervention staffing remain a priority; most paraprofessionals are assigned to special education work across grades K–5.
Administrators said they will present more student‑assessment and budget data in November, including state assessment results for grades 3–5 and beginning‑of‑year diagnostic data for reading and math.
Ending: The board asked administrators to continue tracking preschool capacity, interdistrict tuition arrangements and state reporting indicators; staff said they would bring additional budget and assessment details to the November packet.
