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School Superintendent Suggests Ideas for Relief on Special- Education Costs

Posted on: Thursday, 16 February 2006, 18:00 CST

By RICHARD C. DUJARDIN Journal Staff Writer

Lawmakers say changes are overdue in a school district where special-education costs rose 74.9 percent over the last five years.

* * *

EAST PROVIDENCE - City and school officials met with area lawmakers yesterday, making a strong pitch for changes in special- education mandates and how communities are reimbursed.

And not far from the aroma of bacon, eggs and sausage, those attending the session at City Hall appeared to be on the same page.

"We dropped the ball last year," said Rep. Paul E. Moura, the House Deputy Majority Whip, who said he didn't think the General Assembly had paid enough attention to the concerns expressed by city and school officials during a similar meeting last year.

"It would be easy for us to point the finger at the governor, but we are as much to blame," he said. "When the administration proposed level-funding education, we went along with it."

Moura, D-Providence, who recently moved to East Providence outside his district, told city officials they should be considered a "model" because of simply asking for more money, "you have suggested alternatives . . .No one else is doing that."

One of the chief concerns for school and city officials is the cost of special education, which in East Providence has been rising exponentially.

Among the problems outlined by Schools Supt. Manuel Vinhateiro:

- While general school spending has gone up $11 million, or 19 percent, over the last five years, special education has gone up $7.5 million, or 74.9 percent. Sixty-eight percent of those special- education costs are borne by the local property tax.

- Twenty-two percent of the teachers in the East Providence School Department are special-education teachers; 85 percent of the department's teacher assistants work in special education.

- Because of changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act that went into effect this school year, a district where a private school is located is responsible for the cost of special-needs evaluations, consultations and diagnostic screenings of children in that school regardless of the child's hometown. East Providence stands to be disproportionately affected by the rule because private schools in East Providence have a combined enrollment of 2,711, the second highest in the state.

- Group homes are another major expense for East Providence, because their residents are considered by the state to be residents of the town or city where the home is located. Vinhateiro said a decision by "a bureaucrat" to declare Bradley Hospital's Craft program, with 18 beds for children with disabilities, as a group home has put the city on the hook for $300,000 or more that it would have not had otherwise. With 42 children in group homes, including at Bradley, the city's expenses totaled $1.25 million last year -- of which only $630,000 was reimbursed by the state.

- The cost of transporting disabled youngsters to schools in and outside the district totaled $1.6 million last year, 51 percent of the School Department's transportation costs.

According to Vinhateiro, the School Department is in desperate need of financial relief, which could be provided if the state took any number of additional steps. His proposals:

- A change in the law to require that special education classrooms have no more than 12 students instead of the current 10. Vinhateiro said that would bring Rhode Island in line with other states and significantly reduce the need for more assistants and special education teachers.

- Allow school districts to use special RIDE buses for special- needs students instead of hiring outside contractors.

- Reconsider the decision to classify the program at Bradley Hospital a group home, thereby removing a major expense to the School Department, and consider providing extra relief to school districts that have many youngsters in group homes.

- Cap the amount that any school district should be required to pay for an out-of-district tuition for special-needs students. Vinhateiro said the district is paying $594,334 for 11 students attending schools outside the district.

The lawmakers agreed that some of the changes -- such as allowing the use of RIDE buses -- are overdue.

Rep John A. Savage, R-East Providence, said Vinhateiro made an "excellent case" for allowing districts to increase the size of special education classrooms, and that his proposal to allow RIDE buses for special-needs students is a "no-brainer." But one alternative, he said, might be a bill the House will consider today that would allow a consolidated busing system for students with special needs.

He noted that Rep. Susan Story, R-Barrington and East Providence, and Rep. Helio Melo, D-East Providence, have submitted bills that would try to cap a school district's special education costs at $20,000 and $50,000, respectively though he assessed those bills' chances of being enacted as "almost nil."

Savage, Melo, and Rep. Henry Rose, D-East Providence, have submitted legislation that would increase the state's reimbursement to communities for group-home residents from $15,000 to $25,000 per student, while the Board of Regents is proposing that the amount be raised to $20,000.

On another front, City Manager William J. Fazioli and members of the City Council yesterday urged lawmakers to reexamine the aid formula by which the state provides extra education money for distressed communities.

Fazioli said comparing Burrillville and North Providence with East Providence leads him to conclude that something is wrong with the formula.

According to the proposed 2007 budget, North Providence will receive $1.27 million in distressed aid next year, Burrillville will get $349,000 and East Providence will get nothing.

At the same time, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students in East Providence is 32 percent, compared with Burrillville's 20 percent and North Providence's 23 percent. Household income in Burrillville is $87,520 compared to North Providence's $64,804 and East Providence's $64,125, according to Fazioli.

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I think we need to squeak louder than them," Moura said.

Sen. Daniel DaPonte, D-East Providence, the deputy majority whip, said the amount of North Providence's aid doubled this year because Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano represents North Providence.

rdujardi@projo.com / (401) 277-7384

Source: Providence Journal

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