Peekskill Special Services outlines program growth and funding needs as enrollment rises

Ellen Duraiss, director of special services for the Peekskill City School District, told the Board of Education that the district currently serves about 634 students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and roughly 858 students when 504 plans and county-run preschool special education are included.

Duraiss said the department is proposing budget adjustments for the 2025-26 school year to maintain expanding services, including moving two school social worker positions from federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) grants into the general fund and shifting some salary lines that were previously grant-funded. "So currently here are the numbers that of students that we currently serve. So as you can see, we have approximately 634 students district wide, kindergarten through twelfth grade, with individual education plans currently," Duraiss said.

The change responds to what Special Services described as steady enrollment growth and a modest rise in classification rates. Duraiss and Glenda Sanchez, who presented program-level details, said the department is seeing a larger share of students requiring therapeutic and medically intensive placements, driving increases in tuition and…