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Superintendent warns of steep drop in state special‑education reimbursements; board to seek detailed local impact
Summary
Superintendent Esther Asbell told the board that state catastrophic-aid reimbursement has fallen from roughly 98.3% (2022) and 87% (2023) to about 67.5% in a Nov. 12 commissioner letter, creating a multimillion-dollar shortfall that could raise the district's tax burden; the board asked for more local numbers and said it may request emergency funding.
Superintendent Esther Asbell briefed the Exeter Region Coop School District board on Dec. 17 about a significant reduction in state special‑education reimbursements that she said will strain district budgets and could increase local tax pressure.
"In 2022, the state reimbursed 98.3% of the catastrophic aid...in 2023 it went down to 87 percent," Asbell told the board, then cited a Nov. 12 letter from the state education commissioner indicating reimbursement would be approximately 67.5 percent. She said the reduction creates a sizable funding gap and recommended the commissioner request emergency funding to cover an estimated $16.4 million shortfall referenced in the materials the board received.
Asbell framed the issue as primarily a funding and services problem, noting that many rising costs stem from students with intensive mental‑health needs who require specialized placements or contracted services. "Some of the reasons...are that the state legislator has also passed some laws that have impacted our rising costs," she said, and urged community members to follow legislative developments.
Board members pressed for evidence underlying a state claim that districts are "over‑identifying" special‑education students. "Is there any evidence that the commissioner used for saying that we're over identifying special needs students, or was it just stated?" asked Bob Paul. Asbell responded that the board would need to ask the commissioner for supporting data and said the district's own presentations show increased needs rather than over‑identification.
Board members requested that the commissioner's letter be posted prominently to the district website and asked administration to provide clearer, local dollar estimates at the January public hearing and in the monthly superintendent update. Asbell said SAU 16 will publish the draft letter (currently marked "draft" in the packet), prepare numerical comparisons showing what reimbursement at 87% would have meant versus 67.5%, and consider whether to seek emergency funding.
The board did not take a formal vote on a funding request at the meeting. Next steps recorded in public discussion include preparing a clearer fiscal estimate for the January public hearing and possibly considering a formal request to the commissioner or legislative outreach depending on January's numbers.
Authorities referenced in the discussion included a state statute cited in the packet as "RSA 186‑C (transition services until age 22)" and the commissioner's November 12 letter (posted as draft in the board packet). The district said it will provide the draft letter publicly and present more specific local impacts at the next meeting.
