Beacon City School District outlines special-education services, out-of-district placements and budget pressures

Assistant Superintendent Heather Chadwell Dennis presented the Beacon City School District Board of Education with a detailed overview of pupil services and the district’s special-education budget for the 2025–26 school year on March 24.

Chadwell Dennis told the board the district currently serves about 458 students with individualized education programs (IEPs) across six buildings, including 74 classified preschool students and 13 students with evaluations pending. "We are responsible for the education of 3 to 21 year olds," she said, and described current programing both inside the home buildings and in out-of-district placements.

The presentation described in-district inclusion gains: the proportion of students receiving special-education services in their home building has increased since 2019–20, with particularly large gains at JVF and at other elementary schools. Chadwell Dennis said the district now has 40 students in out-of-district placements (down from a budget projection of 43 last year) and that the district is projecting 46 to 48 out-of-district students in the 2025–26 budget.

Why it matters: out-of-district placements, residential maintenance costs and rising service needs are major drivers of special-education spending for the district. Chadwell Dennis told the board the…