Special Education Gets Shortchanged
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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Beth Swedeen, with Amelia, 8, (left) and Cara, 6.
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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