Executive Director Stacy Brendesi and Director Melanie Stevenson presented the Greece Central School District's special-education annual report, outlining program size, staffing and areas of concern.

Brendesi said the district operates about 84 self-contained classrooms and employs more than 400 certified special-education staff plus over 100 teacher assistants and monitors to support students across 18 campuses. She reported 1,509 in-district students receiving special-education services, 99 out-of-district placements paid for by the district, and 83 parentally placed students within district boundaries. "We're at the point now with that entire number, the 1,700 plus students. We're at 17.5 percent," Brendesi said when summarizing classification rates.

Presenters emphasized that Greece provides a broader continuum of in-house special programming than many neighboring districts, including integrated co-teaching (ICT) in 14 of 18 campuses and specialized 12:1 and 6:1 classrooms where required. But they repeatedly flagged physical space as the immediate capacity challenge: the district can recruit and staff additional sections, leaders said, "we just don't have the room for our kids." Staff said a demographic "bubble" of incoming preschool and school-age students will lead to further space pressure.

Board members asked about declassification rates (five declassifications so far this year), preschool early-intervention shortages, and strategies to improve outcomes. Brendesi and Stevenson described ongoing professional learning in evidence-based literacy programs (Orton-Gillingham, ARC, Readopia), expanded problem-solving/RTI processes, tighter documentation to address cited indicator issues and alternatives to suspension aimed at reducing disciplinary removals.

No formal actions changed program structure at the meeting; presenters said staff will return with recommendations and continue monitoring capacity, staffing and compliance.