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Board hears special-education costs far exceed federal funding; due-process fees noted
Summary
Staff told the board special-education program costs total about $1.8 million while federal special-ed funding is roughly $400,000, leaving a district contribution of about $1.4 million; board members flagged $750,000 in due-process costs since 2019 as a continuing pressure on the budget.
District staff told the board that special education is substantially underfunded at the state and federal levels and that local contributions are covering the shortfall.
"We receive around, 400,000 for special ed funding and our program right now costs 1,800,000," the presenter said, adding the district must contribute the remainder each year. Board members raised questions about due-process legal costs, which the presenter estimated at about $750,000 since 2019, and discussed options to increase billing for Medi-Cal and to use one-time grant sources to cover episodic costs.
Members emphasized the long-term sustainability challenge and asked staff to continue pursuing reimbursements and to include special education pressure in longer-term budget modeling.
