Cheshire School District officials told the Board of Education on Tuesday that growth in students with individualized education programs (IEPs) and soaring out‑of‑district tuition are creating sharp budget pressure for the coming year.

Ms. Carey, the district’s pupil‑personnel services director, said the district counted 725 students with IEPs as of December and that prevalence was about 16.3% for the 2024–25 reporting period, below the state average of 18.5% but rising. “We’ve seen an increase of 180 students with IEPs since 2020,” she said.

The district’s average tuition for an out‑of‑district placement rose to roughly $140,000 in 2024–25, Ms. Carey said, not including transportation, and she cited recent vendor quotes as high as $283,000 for a single student’s tuition. “That does not include transportation,” she added, noting many placements also require an on‑bus aide.

Those placements can be necessary when a student’s needs are more intensive than the district can safely or efficiently provide in‑house, Ms. Carey said. She told the board that the district has historically kept outplacement rates low by building in‑district supports — early intervention, pre‑K intensive programs, Bridges, Aspire and life‑skills programs — and that Cheshire’s outplacement rate remains low compared with peers.

But a combination of higher intensity needs, long waiting lists at specialized providers and price increases from a small market of vendors has pushed costs up sharply. Ms. Carey told the board that some assessment and treatment vendors are scarce and expensive; for example, a consultant teacher‑of‑the‑deaf from CREC was priced at $425 per hour during a recent period when the district’s usual provider was unavailable.

District leaders said costs are also rising because many commercial assessment providers have moved to electronic testing platforms that require iPads; the vendor Pearson — which holds many commonly used assessments — now requires an iPad for students and a second device for the assessor. Ms. Carey said the district needs about 16 additional iPads and licenses to run assessments efficiently.

In response, the district is requesting an additional elementary special‑education teacher (to bring caseloads closer to a target of roughly 15–16 students per teacher), technology to support assessments and modest additional staffing and supplies for specialized instruction. Ms. Carey also highlighted exits from special education: 15 students had been exited so far this year, which she said is a positive sign but does not offset incoming demand.

Board members raised questions about data sources and comparisons; Ms. Carey noted that some public data are reported with a lag (annual performance reports are often two years behind) and that local counts reflect more current, operational caseloads.

The district’s immediate next steps include requests for the additional special‑education teacher and capital funding for iPads; administrators said the board’s public informational meeting on Jan. 20 will include further budget discussion and any proposed adjustments. The board adjourned after the discussion without taking a formal vote on the special‑education staffing request.

Sources: Remarks by Ms. Carey, district pupil services director, at the Cheshire School District Board of Education budget meeting.