The Haverhill School Committee’s first regular meeting of 2015 is expected to continue discussions of school district finances, including increased special education tuition costs, within a mostly routine agenda for Thursday night.
At the committee’s last regular meeting on December 4, Haverhill Public Schools Superintendent James F. Scully told the committee a consultant was continuing to work with school officials, and a report would be presented this month. According to Scully, a student increase in special education was at 300 students, and requests for special education increased by 10 percent. He indicated to the committee there were many factors that would result in an increase, and he could provide that data, as well as a tuition breakdown.
School Committee member Scott Wood had said the district might not have the resources to service some of those children, after learning from Scully no special education students had left the district and no services had been decreased.
School Committee member Joseph Bevilacqua also noted there was no way a school district could budget for such contingencies, and that state Representaive Brian S. Dempsey, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, was working on ways to address the impacts of special education on area school district budgets.
Also on the agenda, Superintendent Scully is scheduled to continue an update discussion on the high school, and also discuss “21st century college and career programming, including NECC Early College.”
The Haverhill School Committee meets at 7 p.m., tonight, in city council chambers at Haverhill City Hall.
I agree, and let’s not forget…. the money from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is collected from the same taxpayers who are paying for everything else (City, State, Federal, on and on).
The State must step up and give the cities and towns the funds so the kids get what the state mandates the services we must provide. These unfunded or partially mandates must stop.