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Board approves staffing to bring two IU autistic-support classrooms into Centennial School District
Summary
After a presentation from district special-education leadership, the board authorized staffing tied to a transfer of entity to move two Bucks County IU autistic-support classrooms at Davis Elementary into Centennial School District for the 2026–27 school year, citing oversight and projected savings.
Doctor Hopkins told the board the district is proposing a transfer of entity (TOE) that would move two Bucks County Intermediate Unit autistic-support classrooms currently housed at Davis Elementary into Centennial School District control for the 2026–27 school year.
She said the two Davis classrooms house 16 students — "every single one of those 16 students is a Centennial School District resident" — and that bringing the classes back under district oversight would make the teachers and supervisors Centennial employees, improve alignment with district practices and increase opportunities for inclusion.
On costs, Hopkins said IU tuition for the current school year was approximately $98,923 per student and that total tuition for those students under the IU arrangement was in the seven-figure range. She presented a district cost model for staffing if the TOE is approved: two full-time teachers, an additional teacher to address class caps, 14 registered behavior technicians (RBTs) and one full-time BCBA. Hopkins said the district-calculated staffing package would cost about $1,294,905 and that the change represented a savings compared with continuing to pay IU tuition (she cited a figure of roughly $2,573,760 under the IU scenario).
"We would have been spending $2,573,760," Hopkins said, and, she added, transferring the classrooms would allow the district to plan with more predictability and provide what she characterized as enhanced services.
Board members asked operational questions — whether Davis has a vacant classroom (it does), what would happen to current IU aides (they are IU employees and would be addressed by the IU), and whether similar transitions had been piloted (the SPIRIT program was cited as an example). Hopkins stressed that each student's services and placement remain IEP team decisions and that, if the board approves, the district would hold IEP meetings with each family.
The staffing authorizations associated with the TOE were included in consent item 6.2f and were approved by the board as part of the consent agenda during the meeting.
Why it matters: The transfer would shift special-education staffing and program oversight from the regional IU to the local district for the Davis classrooms. District leaders say that change will increase oversight, expand inclusion options and produce budget predictability and savings; some of the savings projections were presented in Greenwood’s finance update.
What’s next: Board approval will be followed by scheduled IEP meetings with the affected families and administrative steps to convert the positions and integrate the staff under Centennial School District employment.
