Lorain City School leaders told the Board of Education on Nov. 10 they are exploring opening an in‑district facility to serve students with significant autism-related needs, citing steep out‑of‑district tuition and transportation costs and a deteriorating budget outlook.

"We are exploring this idea of maybe opening up a building that would serve primarily students with autism with significant needs," Linda Coad, the districtxecutive director of exceptional children, told trustees during a presentation on options the district reviewed after visiting Mentor Cares in Mentor. "Currently we have 90 students who have opted for the Autism Scholarship," she said, and added that the scholarship equals about "$34,000 per student" that flows from the district to outside providers.

Nut graf: The proposal is presented against a strained budget picture. Superintendent Jeff Graham told the board the district passed two renewal levies last week that together account for roughly 15% of the districtudget but still confronts an estimated $12,000,000 deficit next year. District leaders framed an in‑district facility as a way to keep students in the community and to reduce multi‑million‑dollar outlays for tuition and transportation.

Coad laid out the numbers the district is weighing. She said tuition for students placed in the most restrictive separate facilities ranges widely ("around $64,000 to $143,000 per student" in the examples she cited) and estimated "total tuition" and transportation paid outside the district at about $6.7 million. Those costs, coupled with cuts the superintendent described from federal, state and county sources, were cited as drivers of the anticipated deficit.

Trustees and staff described a Mentor Cares model they observed during a site visit. Coad said Mentor City Schools converted an elementary building into a specialized program called Cardinal Autism Resource and Education School, loaned an initial $2.5 million to cover renovations and start‑up costs and operates the program with its own budget while serving students from about 17 outside districts. "They loaned her $2,500,000 and they said you have 5 years to pay that loan back," Coad said, adding the program paid the loan within three years and now charges other districts for services.

Board members pressed staff on feasibility and cost. One trustee noted the district has a building that could be repurposed but would require redistricting: "What we would do... is redistrict to free up one of our buildings to serve as a way to meet the needs of many of our students," a trustee said. Staff said the district would start by surveying families to gauge demand, work with the finance department to develop a financial model and review building options; they described an "aggressive" timeline that could allow an initial opening by August if all steps proceed quickly.

No formal vote or authorization to build was taken at the Nov. 10 meeting; board members directed staff to continue study, engage families and develop financial options. Coad said staffing models used by Mentor included small classrooms (maximum six students, per Ohio law), lead teachers with support staff and a mix of specialists (BCBAs, OTs, SLPs) to sustain more intensive programming.

District leaders framed the move as both a fiscal and equity measure: reducing travel times for students who now are transported outside Lorain County and keeping students connected to the district's programs and community. "She doesn't get home till 4:30 every day... She doesn't get to be part of after‑school activities," Coad said of a student placed far from the district, arguing an in‑district option would improve access.

The district also reiterated that the proposed plan would require detailed financial modeling and community engagement. Superintendent Graham said the district will continue outreach and may ask voters for a new‑money levy in spring to stabilize finances; no decision on a levy or construction was taken at the meeting.

What happens next: Staff will survey families, work with finance to model start‑up and operating costs, and return to the board with options. The board discussed possible timelines and emphasized quality and cautious growth if the plan advances.