Special Ed, Cost per Pupil, Tax Rates

I have heard many people complain that Rondout is near the top of the cost per pupil rankings. The reason this is true is because geographically we have the highest number of certified (special needs) children in our County with 21% of our student population needing some special services. These services cost money. That is the nature of being geographically and economically diverse. It is, what I think, part of what makes our district special.

In a perfect world, the County would regionalize services to children who needed them so that all tax payers in a County could share the added cost of helping those who need some extra help. But right now no system is in place.

That said, we have a low enough true tax rate to shoulder this burden. Our true tax rate (according to the Mid-Hudson School Council) for 2010 is 15.61% which is below the median in our County of 16.02%. In fact in Ulster we rank 6th of 9 districts (where #1 has the highest true tax rate).

For the fiscally concerned, it is worth adding that our budget not only needs to cover the cost for our high certified population in the form of special education teachers etc. but we need a buffer because if one new certified child moves in it could mean considerable added cost.

Why care? If helping all of our children succeed is not enough reason, consider this: every year, districts face law suits by parents who feel their special needs child is not being served. 

The cost of one law suit? Potentially as high as 200k (That's only for legal costs. If the parent wins it could mean millions of dollars).

Chew on that and tell the administration they need to consolidate in administration and bring the special education, life skill teachers and aids back.