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Auburn officials warn special-education tuition, placements drive 28% cost jump
Summary
District presenters told the Auburn School Committee on March 11 that special-education placements and tuition increases are responsible for a roughly 28.68% rise in the special-education cost center, driven by net new placements and higher out-of-district tuition; projected reimbursements remain uncertain.
The Auburn School Committee learned March 11 that the district's special-education cost center faces a steep increase next year driven mainly by out-of-district placements and higher tuition rates.
At a budget workshop, Director Laura Shaw and assistant director Rod presented the cost-center 2 review and said the district counted 662 students receiving special education services (Oct. 1 state count), about 21.1% of Auburn’s student population. Shaw noted Maine’s statewide average was 20.4 percent and the national average around 15 percent. Rod said autism identifications in Auburn rose from 75 in 2020 to 146 in 2025.
The presenters told the committee several tuition-driven factors pushed the cost center higher: new placements at special-purpose private schools, additional students who moved into the district already placed elsewhere, and state-imposed tuition caps that limit year-to-year increases to 6 percent…
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