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Superintendent creates special‑education and attendance task forces, highlights high SPED costs and community forums
Summary
Interim Superintendent Dr. Avery announced a new special‑education task force, described an attendance initiative and outlined community engagement events; he also reported the district’s special‑education costs and asked for parent participants to join the task force.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Avery used his Jan. 13 report to describe two district initiatives — a special‑education task force and an attendance task force — and to preview community forums planned for January.
Dr. Avery said the special‑education task force will assess current practices and identify improvements and innovations for special‑education services across the district. He said the task force would aim to have at least 50% parent representation and that the district is actively recruiting parents through principals and campus notices. "We are currently looking for, 50% of the task force members need to be parents," Dr. Avery said. He asked parents to contact the superintendent's office to volunteer; the district had its first task‑force meeting the week before and planned further outreach.
Dr. Avery also described the district’s attendance work: the new attendance task force will analyze chronic absenteeism, study practices at campuses with stronger attendance and bring recommendations forward. "This task force is really trying to prevent and to come up with a root cause for chronic absenteeism," he said.
On costs, Dr. Avery and CFO Nestor briefed the board on special‑education spending and transportation. Dr. Avery told trustees that roughly $115 million of the district’s adopted $304 million budget was associated with special education; he said transportation for out‑of‑district placements and residential placements is a significant cost driver. "We're spending almost $115,000,000 just on special ed alone," he said, and noted the district transports more than 350 students to placements outside the district.
The superintendent previewed two public events: a school‑safety forum and an open community forum. The safety session is scheduled for Jan. 16 at Central High School, and the general public forum is set for Jan. 22 at Black Rock Library. Dr. Avery said the forums will include presentations on safety protocols and budget questions and are intended to improve transparency and community engagement.
Why it matters: The special‑education task force and attendance effort are intended to identify programmatic changes that could improve services and potentially reduce costly out‑of‑district placements and transportation. The board flagged the expense of SPED services as a key driver of the district deficit and a focus for state advocacy.
What the board asked: Trustees sought follow‑up detail on the composition of the task force, how families will be recruited and how the district will measure the task force’s recommendations. Board members also asked for a clear accounting of whether the transportation and out‑of‑district placements are increasing and for baseline data the board can use when reviewing savings proposals.
Ending: Dr. Avery asked community members to volunteer for the special‑education task force and said the district will post forum information on the website and invite partners and parents to participate.
