RSU 5 reports spike in special‑education needs; reserve to cover nursing, placements and contracted therapy

Superintendent Jean told the RSU 5 board on June 11 that recent special‑education developments after the district’s March budget will require drawing on the Article 2 special‑education reserve for several unplanned needs, and the board approved summer hiring authority to keep staffing moving.

Jean said the reserve exists for “emergency break glass” needs. She reported a recent increase in complex special‑education referrals and new student registrations, including a student whose individualized education program (IEP) requires one‑on‑one nursing services and a student who will need an out‑of‑district placement because district programs cannot meet the child’s needs. Jean estimated an out‑of‑district placement could cost anywhere from $50,000 to $90,000, depending on location.

Jean also said the district will need a teacher of the deaf for one student and anticipates hourly services costing approximately $25,000. The district’s speech‑language pathology team has seen caseloads grow; the superintendent said contracted SLP services are likely to be required and estimated those services could cost about $75,000 to $80,000. To cover these and related positions (primarily educational technicians and out‑of‑district placements), Jean said the district added $618,517 to the reserve, bringing the reported balance to $954,081; she said the district is looking at $200,000–$300,000 in recurring uses that may need to be added to the local budget in future years.

When a board member asked how much was in the reserve to start, Jean provided the added amount and the resulting balance reported above. Jean stated the district had checked with the state and confirmed that Article 2 reserve funds may be used to pay for required IEP services, including nursing tied to IEPs.

On personnel, the board approved a routine summer motion authorizing the superintendent to hire staff between June 12, 2025, and the next regular board meeting in September 2025 so that the district can complete hires while the board is not meeting. The board also approved a motion authorizing the superintendent to convert two unfilled special‑education educational‑technician positions at Durham Community School into a funded special‑education teacher position; the motion was moved by Malik and seconded by Beth and passed with no opposition.

Superintendent Jean and board members noted that some costs covered from the reserve (for example, ongoing nursing needs if students remain in the district and rising SLP demand) would likely shift into the local operating budget for future years. Jean recommended that these items be considered for inclusion in next year’s local budget rather than relying solely on the IDEA grant allocation. Board members thanked departing staff and noted ongoing recruitment challenges: at the time of the meeting the district reported about seven and a half unfilled special‑education ed‑tech positions and four general‑education ed‑tech vacancies.

The board also recorded several resignations the superintendent announced: Paula Chadwick (Freeport Middle School educational technician), Alyssa Herling (Durham Community School educational technician), Sierra Zahares (Moore Street School educational technician) and Marshall Flowers (Freeport High School educational technician). Assistant Superintendent Cynthia Alexander was publicly thanked and acknowledged she will retire at the end of the month.