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District outlines special-education leadership split and asks for $250,000 stabilization transfer to cover out-of-district tuition risks
Summary
The district proposed creating two unit-B special-education chairs and restoring school-psychologist clinical scope to address large gaps in outcomes for students with disabilities (reported gaps of 20–43%). The committee voted unanimously to allocate $250,000 from the stabilization fund to cover out-of-district tuition exposure.
The district's special-education leader presented a two-part strategy to address persistent opportunity gaps for students with disabilities and to protect the operating budget from volatile out-of-district tuition costs. "We have a gap of 20 to 43% — students with disabilities are performing lower in MCAS across all grades and all subject matters," she said, citing district data and describing higher chronic absenteeism and lower course-passing and five-year graduation rates among that population.
To address the problem, the proposal would add two unit-B team-chair positions responsible for IEP leadership, compliance and coaching, and allow school psychologists to focus on clinical assessment and universal screening. The superintendent and finance director described a current out-of-district exposure of $390,000 over budget; the recommendation to transfer $250,000 from the school's stabilization fund was adopted unanimously by the committee to buffer known and probable placements while the district pursues contesting some LEA reassignments and other reimbursements.
