ISD superintendent outlines services, budgets and staffing as enrollment falls

Chuck, the county’s Intermediate School District superintendent, told the Board of Commissioners the ISD exists to support local districts rather than serve as a standalone school district. He said the ISD operates cooperative special-education classrooms, a career center and early‑childhood supports and currently employs about 142 people and manages roughly a $30,000,000 budget.

The superintendent described three core ISD functions: general education supports such as literacy interventions, special education (nine cooperative classrooms including ASD, MOSI and ISP settings) and vocational education through the career center. He said special education accounts for about $15,000,000 of the ISD budget and that career center operations total about $3,500,000.

Board members pressed for details on staffing and student trends. The superintendent confirmed the county lost about 200 students this year and said that mirrors statewide declines. He emphasized the ISD’s role in providing services that single districts cannot efficiently deliver alone: “Our career center is a huge support and opportunity for students to learn skills and careers,” he said.

Commissioners and the superintendent also discussed rising demand for services for students on the autism spectrum. Chuck said the ASD caseload is growing and that meeting those needs requires not just money but trained personnel and earlier intervention in homes and preschool settings. He noted early childhood services are divided into birth–3 and ages 3–5 and highlighted speech and developmental screening as important early interventions.

The board asked whether the career center could expand or restore programs such as EMS/EMT training. The superintendent said he would check with Jamie Mueller, the career center director, and that the center is open to exploring additional pathways where financially feasible.

The presentation closed with an explanation of ISD revenue sources: a mix of state funding, local millages (the special‑education millage generated roughly $5.6 million locally in Chuck’s example) and modest federal grants such as Perkins funding for career-tech programs.