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Board signs contracts for specialized placements; administrators defend high per-student costs
Summary
The board approved several service agreements for students with extreme special-education needs, including a roughly $100,000 KidsLink placement for one student and agreements with LEAP and ESE Western Reserve; trustees pressed administrators for counts, cost breakdowns and reimbursement processes.
The Stow-Munroe Falls City School District board on May 18 approved a set of contractor-service agreements to support students with severe special-education needs. Administration emphasized that placements are IEP-driven and sometimes require out-of-district services with market-driven pricing.
Administrators said the KidsLink placement is one of the most expensive options and will cost about $100,000 this coming school year for one student. The superintendent and special-services leader said the district tries to reduce outplacements by increasing in-district capacity but that safety and individualized needs sometimes make outside placements necessary. The board discussed the district’s ability to recoup costs through catastrophic/threshold reimbursements and heard that last year the district recouped about $640,000 in reimbursements across placements.
Board members requested clearer accounting of how many students are served under each contract and the district’s exposure per student. Administrators said KidsLink and similar providers set annual or per-student rates and that placement decisions are made by IEP teams under FERPA constraints; they told trustees they would provide more specific cost details in follow-up materials. The board then voted to approve the listed contractor agreements (KidsLink; Education Alternatives; LEAP services; EFC of Western Reserve), with roll-call votes recorded for each contract.
