Coffee County details special-education staffing, caseloads and budget pressures

At a Sept. 23 Coffee County School Board work session, district special-education staff outlined caseloads, staff assignments and budget lines for special education and warned that fluctuating federal grants could force the district to absorb more than $1 million in costs.

The presentation by Charlie Westmoreland, the district's special-education lead, laid out personnel assignments and specific caseload counts and described the time and paperwork required to maintain Individualized Education Programs. "It takes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to complete a process in an IEP meeting," Westmoreland said, noting that preparation, data review and document finalization are included in that total.

Westmoreland told the board the department currently lists about 124 faculty and staff assigned to special education, and provided examples of caseloads: one lead coordinator was listed with about 49 files, a case manager at another school had 47, a dyslexia coordinator showed 171 active dyslexia records, and several speech-language files and contract therapy lines were also itemized. He said Central High School's total enrollment is roughly 1,200 with a special-education population of about 159 students (13 percent) at the high school.

Why it matters: Westmoreland said nearly all of the program budget is personnel costs and that federal funding is a substantial part of the revenue stream. "If federal goes away, we've got over a million dollars we're gonna have to absorb in general or we start cutting positions," he told board members. The district's presentation showed a special-education personnel and operating total that the presenter said is in the mid single millions: a personnel subtotal approaching $6,000,000 and a total special-education general-purpose budget for 2026 listed at about $6.4 million, which included $81,000 of state pre-K funding.

Budget and funding details: Westmoreland walked the board through federal and state grant lines the district uses for special-education staff and services, citing IDEA (Part B and preschool), state pre-K allocations and several one-time or multi-year grants the department has won. He said the district's ongoing federal entitlement funding is currently just over $1 million and noted carryover amounts; he also described smaller grants that fund pre-K assistants and pilot programs. Westmoreland said district staff recently moved two positions from federal to general funding to cover increased salary and benefits when federal lines tightened.

Compliance, workload and service model: Westmoreland emphasized compliance and service delivery. He explained the district's emphasis on least-restrictive environment placement and described the range of special-education settings — from inclusion support in general-education classrooms to comprehensive (highly modified) classes — and the legal requirements that attend changes of placement for students with significant behavioral needs. He described homebound instruction requirements and how TDOE and district systems classify students for funding under unique learning codes and local funding formulas. "The whole purpose of special education is to provide interventions and provide support so that as time goes on, the supports can be whittled away," Westmoreland said, adding that he rejects the idea of students becoming long-term "lifers" in special education without progress.

Operational notes: Westmoreland said much of the department's day-to-day work falls to case managers and educational assistants; he described regular 20-school-day ADM reconciliation with district data and TDOE reporting, weekly compliance emails, and the APR (annual performance review) indicators the district must meet. He said some APR indicators remain in the "needs assistance" band and that training and targeted compliance work are under way to close those gaps.

What comes next: Westmoreland told the board he and finance staff watch enrollment and funding closely because maintenance-of-effort rules require stable local spending even when federal or grant dollars fluctuate. He closed by reiterating his priorities. "My whole goal is to serve the families and students of this county. That's all I'm here for," Westmoreland said.

Ending: Board members asked follow-up questions about staffing, how pre-K services plug into TEIS transitions, and the district's sustainability plans for grant-funded positions. Westmoreland and finance staff said they would continue regular budget reporting to the board and return with any specific requests if federal funding levels force personnel decisions.