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Stamford unveils Phase 2 special‑education staffing plan and proposed CES partnership to curb out‑placement costs
Summary
District leaders proposed new special‑education staffing (caseload targets, building-based administrators) and a partnership with Cooperative Educational Services to add in‑district capacity (six classrooms next year, goal of 10) to reduce costly out‑of‑district placements; presenters cited growing special‑education enrollment and rising placement costs.
Stamford School District presented Phase 2 of its master staffing plan focusing on special education, proposing administrative supports in buildings, caseload targets, and a planned partnership with Cooperative Educational Services (CES) to bring several out‑placement classrooms into district.
Amy Belvide, chief academic officer, reviewed legal obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the district’s responsibility to provide free and appropriate public education (FAPE). She said district special‑education enrollment has grown substantially over the last decade — “increased by almost 1,000 students” — and that the district created 45 self‑contained units now serving 402 students, which has helped avoid more expensive outplacements.
Belvide said outplacement costs and transportation have risen sharply and that, based on today’s rates, sending all students currently in self‑contained units out of district would cost about $32,000,000 in additional tuition and transport. She also cited workforce challenges in recruiting special‑education teachers and related‑service providers (BCBAs, speech and language pathologists).
To address capacity and instructional support, the district proposed: setting caseload averages near 18–20 students; adding building‑based assistant principals focused on students with disabilities to supervise SPED teachers and related service staff; and reducing central office assistant directors from four to three to reallocate resources into buildings.
Belvide described an active negotiation to partner with CES (the regional RESC in Trumbull) to start six in‑district classrooms next year with a CES administrator overseeing the program and Stamford hiring teachers and paraeducators; the district’s goal is 10 classrooms the following year. She said the model would reduce long bus rides for students, expand the continuum of least‑restrictive environments locally and support professional development across district staff.
Board members pressed for details. Dr. Becky Hammond asked whether Stamford’s status (referenced informally during discussion as a sanctuary state/city) was adding costs to special‑education services; Belvide and others said they did not have data in the presentation to substantiate a causal link and offered to provide dual‑identified numbers and further breakdowns at the next budget presentation. The superintendent, Dr. Lucero, said the staffing proposals aim to make budget outcomes more predictable; the preview reduced projected budget growth from near 9% to below 5% ahead of next week’s formal budget presentation by CFO Ryan Feeley.
No formal actions were voted at this committee meeting; presenters said the special‑education staffing proposals will be reflected in next week’s budget materials for board review and further discussion.
