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Special education and staffing increases cited as main drivers of TESD budget rise
Summary
District staff said a roughly $1.6 million Special Education increase, new classroom supports and net professional staffing growth of about 5.9 positions are major upward drivers in the proposed 2024–25 budget, with much of the contracted spending tied to IU services and other outside providers.
District staff told the Tredyffrin-Easttown School District board that special education and staffing needs are principal contributors to the district’s proposed 2024–25 budget increases.
Nicole Roy and Chris Gropi summarized a $1,600,000 increase in Special Education costs: about $800,000 tied to higher Intermediate Unit (IU) services, $400,000 for contracted services related to two new elementary classrooms (including additional aides, registered behavior technicians and personal care aides), and the remainder for other program increases. Roy said the district also planned to convert some contracted para work to in-district staff where enrollment supports it.
Dr. Stevenson outlined enrollment-linked staffing requests and net professional-staff changes. The administration said additions include two elementary teachers for the new classrooms, an additional high-school teacher because of enrollment, and one district psychologist; meanwhile certain middle-school core positions reflected reductions, yielding a projected net increase of approximately 5.9 professional positions.
The presentation and later discussion made clear that much of the upward pressure in contracted services and other purchase services is special-education related. Mr. McDonnell and staff also highlighted that contracted services and tuition reimbursements for special education are relatively large and that some costs (for example, charter tuition or out-of-district placements) are driven by formulas or external factors the district cannot fully control.
Board members asked whether increases reflected market-rate changes in contracted services and how the district determines whether to convert services in-house; administrators said IU contract rates rose and that where enrollment and workload permit, some services may be provided directly by district staff rather than purchased from the IU.
No formal staffing hires occurred at the workshop; the board discussed committee review processes for elective positions and confirmed that enrollment- or IEP-driven staffing is added as needed.
Next steps: staffing and special-education costs will be part of the final budget packet brought to the board at the end of April and to finance and education committees in May.
