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State funding of required services is on the decline
Beth Swedeen of Madison is the last person who wants to see parents of special education students fighting over funding with parents who have regular education children.
There’s no way Swedeen could win that fight. She has two daughters at Midvale Elementary School – 6-year-old Cara who is a special education student and 8-year-old Amelia who’s in the talented and gifted program.
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“With two kids in school, my number one priority is education,” Swedeen said. “With one child in a special education program, I know what it’s like to see spending priorities and mandates work for some, but not all students.”
Swedeen says she’s fortunate that teachers and administrators at Midvale have put together a special education program that allows both of her daughters to get the best education possible. But, she said, there’s a real problem that some parents may feel that their children have been slighted because of priority spending on special education.
“With the added burden facing local school districts from the state-imposed revenue caps, it also is a divisive and cruel way to pit the needs of children without disabilities against those who do have special needs,” she said. “This type of tactic is, I believe, unjust, immoral and unnecessary in a state and nation as wealthy as ours and in a state that so clearly values and supports quality public education for all its children.”
Swedeen is not alone in her concerns. School district revenue controls have forced districts throughout the state to cut back on regular education programs to help fund special education programs, which are required by federal law.
In some cases, increased special education costs are pitting parents of special and regular education students against each other.
In Beloit, for example, the combination of revenue controls, a declining enrollment and increasing special education costs is creating financial havoc.
Richard Peterson, assistant superintendent of business operations at the Beloit School District, said $10 million of the district’s $52 million budget goes to special education.
State-imposed revenue controls allow Beloit to increase spending $500,000 to $600,000. If salaries and fringe benefits increase at the Qualified Economic Offer standard rate of 3.8%, the district is looking at $1.5 million in new spending.
“Obviously, those numbers don’t add up,” Peterson said. “Last year we got lucky when health insurance costs declined after we settled the teacher contract, but that won’t be the case this year.”
Although Beloit’s overall enrollment is declining, the number of special education students is increasing.
“In the end, cuts will have to be made in some areas,” Peterson said. “The problem, of course, is where to make them.”
It’s unlikely any cuts can be made in special education. Most programs are mandated by federal law. That means cuts must be made in regular education programs, and many parents are upset about it.
“The last thing in the world we want is that kind of situation,” Peterson said.
Senator Judy Robson of Beloit has introduced legislation to allow districts to exceed revenue controls to fund special education. She said her bill is a response to the dilemma districts now face.
“What’s happened is districts have been forced to build their budgets around mandated programs such as special ed,” she said. “Then, whatever is left is spent on salaries and benefits. It’s only after those expenses are met that districts can even begin to think about other expenditures, and they are now finding there’s little, if any, money left.”
State law requires the state to meet 63% of special education costs, but there’s an escape clause that allows reduced levels if funding is not available. The current state funding level is frozen at about 34%, and the governor’s budget plan calls for continuing the freeze and deleting the 63% requirement.
At Beloit, state aid for special education last year was $3.5 million for an $8 million program. The program cost has increased to $10 million this year, but state aid is frozen at $3.5 million.
WEAC has taken a strong position in favor of increased state funding of special education.
“Public schools in Wisconsin face many challenges as children prepare for the next century,” WEAC President Terry Craney said. “Meeting these challenges will require improvements in technology, updated textbooks and teaching materials, and rebuilding schools.
“It is time to support the educational needs of all children and for the state to fund special education costs at promised levels.”
Posted May 5, 1999
