Matawan-Aberdeen staff outline plan to add three self-contained special-education classrooms

A Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District staff member said the district is planning to add three self-contained special-education classrooms, with placements at the high school, Lloyd Road and an elementary building, to serve a currently small population of about 36 students.

The staff member said the district reviewed existing contracts and completed a cost analysis to decide whether to hire full- or part-time staff and to build classroom-based services. "We have 3 additional self contained classrooms," the staff member said, adding that these rooms could serve students with autism or other disabilities and that the district has been refining a model of tiered services to help students transition back to in-person learning.

The discussion emphasized several operational points: the district focused on a small population of roughly 36 students; it relied on tier 2 services developed during the COVID period to support transitions; occupational therapy needs were singled out for attention; and staff considered hiring district employees rather than continuing or expanding contracted services. The staff member said they had "looked at all of those contracts" and had performed a cost analysis to determine whether hiring staff would be more cost-effective.

School officials framed the work as planning rather than a final decision. The staff member said the district worked this past year on the model and intends to move forward next year to create the programs in-school so "students can come to school sitting here." No motion, vote or other formal board action was recorded in the provided transcript excerpts.

District leaders did not specify a firm implementation timeline, exact staffing levels, or the dollar amounts associated with the cost analysis during the remarks. Those details were described as topics under review and for future planning.