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DOE numbers show rising transportation and related-services costs; reimbursement delays leave districts carrying upfront bills
Summary
DOE presented statewide special-education aid and DOE-25 reporting showing large increases in transportation and related services and reminded the commission that districts pay costs up front and often wait six to 18 months for state reimbursement.
Department of Education staff reviewed historic special-education aid distributions and a DOE-25-derived summary showing where districts report special-education spending.
DOE’s finance administrator explained the state aid cap mechanics: districts are responsible for the initial liability (roughly 3.5 times the estimated cost per pupil before the state begins 80% assistance on the excess, and 100% assistance after 10 times the estimated cost-per-pupil). The document presented at the meeting used an estimated-cost-per-pupil figure of about $70,000 as the working example. The administrator said, “they, pay for everything from July 1 … and then they have to submit to us by July 30 their documentation … we try to get done by December 1, and then districts are reimbursed at the January.”
Members discussed the practical effect: a district incurs an expense in one fiscal year and may not receive state reimbursement until January of the following calendar year — in some cases up to 18 months after the cost was incurred — which affects local tax-rate setting and cash-flow planning.
DOE staff also summarized a DOE-25 extraction that tracks special-education spending by four categories that districts report: instruction, related services, transportation and administration. Their summary showed notable increases over time: transportation spending in the selected set rose nearly 98% overall from fiscal year 2017 to 2025 and increased about 97% from FY2022 to FY2025; related services and administration also showed sizable year-over-year percentage changes. DOE staff said they had compiled statewide totals but had not yet produced district-by-district breakout in the material on the table.
Why it matters: rising transportation and related-services costs change both district budgets and the state’s aid calculations; reimbursement lags and local cash reserves (capital-reserve or expendable trust funds) affect whether a district must borrow against anticipated aid. Commission members asked DOE to supply district-level DOE-25 extracts and to explain how special-education rainy-day or expendable trust funds are used to manage sudden, high-cost placements.
Commission direction: staff were asked to provide district-level DOE-25 data, to explain the composition of the administration category, and to model how changes to the statutory thresholds (for example lowering the multiple from 3.5 to 3) could change eligibility and state cost exposure.
