Board hears sharp rises in special education and therapeutic program costs; staff consider in‑district options

District staff said increases in out‑of‑district placements and contracted services with the intermediate unit (IU) are key drivers of the proposed 2025‑26 budget for special education and mental‑health supports.

The matters are significant because special education placements and contracted therapeutic services are legally required and costly; a small number of high‑need placements can materially change a district’s special-education budget.

Staff reported an overall increase in IU‑contracted services of roughly $86,000 (district figure given during the presentation) and described several subcategories with material changes. Emotional‑support and therapeutic (out‑of‑district) placements rose sharply; staff cited an increase in the district’s projected emotional‑support contracted services from about $32,000 in the current year to roughly $121,000 in the proposed budget, driven by student placements determined by IEP teams. Staff said student placements and partial‑hospitalization or therapeutic emotional‑support programs — which provide higher staff ratios and daily therapy — account for much of the cost rise. Staff also cited an approximately $206,720 figure tied to student placements referenced in the discussion.

To offset some costs the district said it plans to increase the use of its medical‑access fund (Medicaid reimbursement). Staff reported the district intends to budget $400,000 from that fund for next year (up from a lower amount used previously) and said prior inflows the district estimated at roughly $335,000 per year were the basis for projecting multi‑year cash flow; staff emphasized that exact yearly Medicaid reimbursement amounts vary and are not finalized.

Board members pressed staff for more granular information: how many students drive line‑item increases, the nature of the placements, the staffing and qualifications of contracted personnel, and a comparison of per‑student costs with other LEAs in the IU. Staff said the district is exploring options to bring more services in‑house (for example, hosting a partial‑hospitalization program) but warned that such a move requires a “sweet spot” of sufficient student counts and physical space; they noted IU and regional boundaries may complicate multi‑district partnerships. The board asked staff to return with more detailed cost breakdowns and IU comparisons at a May meeting.

Staff also reviewed mental‑health programming funded in part by PCCD grants, and said some positions and professional development have been grant‑funded in prior years; the expiration of those grants has moved certain training and conference costs into the district budget (one line cited at $19,700). Staff identified the proposed replacement of the high‑school reading intervention Read180 with a new language‑based program called “Language,” and said initial costs include consumables and training. The board did not vote on any special‑education motions; staff will deliver more detail in May.