Auburn School officials outline rising special-education costs and revenue strategies

Laura Shaw, director of student services for Auburn Public Schools, told the Auburn School Committee on March 12, 2025, that special education (cost center 2) remains a major and growing expense and described several revenue and cost-mitigation strategies the district is pursuing.

Shaw said the district’s October 1 count showed 649 students with individualized education programs, about 20.9 percent of the student population, roughly in line with the Maine average of 21 percent and well above the national average of about 15 percent. "Specially designed instruction with no cost to parents to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability," Shaw said, describing the statutory purpose of special education in the district.

Shaw told the committee Auburn has 60 students placed in special-purpose private schools this year and has budgeted for 64 such placements for fiscal planning. She said those placements are an expensive and variable cost driver and that the district offsets part of the tuition spending with a local entitlement grant "by about $600,000." She did not provide a single consolidated dollar total for the district’s full private-school…