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Board discusses cooperative’s new tuition model and the volatile cost of special-education placements
Summary
Board members reviewed a cooperative governing-board recap describing a move from flat tuition increases to per-program cost accounting; administrators warned special-education placements can cost roughly $65,000 to over $100,000 per student and said the cooperative now provides line-item per-program costs to member districts.
Board members discussed a Governing Board recap that described a new tuition model for the cooperative and how it will affect sending districts.
Miss Larson, the district’s representative to the cooperative’s Governing Board, summarized items from the June 3 meeting including a review of a continuous improvement plan and the cooperative’s tentative budget. Board members asked how the new tuition model will affect member districts’ planning.
A representative who previously served on the cooperative’s executive board (voice 3) said the cooperative has shifted from flat 3% tuition increases to an approach that estimates direct and indirect expenses and uses actual cost accounting for each program. "We were actually given per program costs... the per program costs that see it all range between the 65,000 and well over a 100,000 per student," the representative said, noting that special-education placements are volatile and that a single placement can substantially change a district’s costs.
Board members said the change should improve fiscal transparency and planning for sending districts but emphasized special-education volatility means districts must budget carefully. The board did not take formal action on this item; follow-up was requested to distribute per-program cost details to member districts so they can plan for tuition impacts.
