Outside contracts for special education students costing MUSD $440,000 this year

The increasing cost of providing special education services to nearly 1,000 of its 6,500-member student body has been ascribed as a reason for Moorpark Unified School District’s recently publicized financial difficulties.

So what are the reasons for the rising cost and why didn’t MUSD financial staff see them coming?

Across the state, more and more students are being referred for special needs assessments and qualifying for such services, Superintendent Kelli Hays said in an interview.

In MUSD, about 918 students are designated as “special needs,” a group that includes those who may have learning or psychological disabilities, emotional issues, or speech, hearing, visual or other health impairments.

These students are served by roughly 180 special education teachers, paraeducators, psychologists, therapists and office workers, Hays said.

The superintendent said the district holds Individualized Education Program meetings for special-needs students at least once a year to determine what help these students may need to meet their academic goals. The district’s special education department is responsible for determining whether or not a student is eligible for an IEP.

But Hays said the total cost of providing these special education services to students throughout the year cannot be “wholly predicted” until the IEPs take place.

“We have taken this very seriously,” Hays said of the budget problem publicized in February.

Over the year, Hays said, the school district has had to contract with outside agencies—including the Simi Valley and Conejo Valley school districts—to provide what MUSD cannot, such as programs for students who are autistic or emotionally troubled.

Those contracts have accounted for about $440,000 of the $1.2 million in additional expenses that forced MUSD to dip into its reserves, the superintendent said.

“We have a legal and moral obligation to educate these students just as we do with all our students,” Hays said, adding that she does not want special education youths and their parents to feel “targeted” by the district’s financial challenges.

Going forward, Hays said she wants the district to provide more training for the special education staff to help reduce the reliance on outside agencies. She also wants MUSD to join other districts throughout the state in calling for more funding for special ed.

Replenishing reserves

As of this week, the school district had just $750,000 in its emergency fund, leaving MUSD out of compliance with a state law that requires districts to keep at least 3 percent of their overall budget in their reserves. Moorpark’s reserves total about 1.2 percent.

In response, the Ventura County Office of Education has labeled Moorpark Unified’s budget as having “qualified certification,” meaning that based on current projections, the district may not meet its financial obligations over the next two fiscal years. It is the only school district in Ventura County currently labeled as such.

“Having a qualified budget is obviously something that’s disappointing for me and for the district,” Hays said. “However, it is a process. I think it’s important for people to know that this process really served its purpose in alerting us to areas where we need improved processes and procedures.”

In the short term, the district will replenish its reserves as part of its 2016-17 budget plan, taking money that would have otherwise gone to the general fund. Speaking long-term, Hays said, some staffing changes will need to be made.

Hays told the Acorn in March that the posts of about 10 teachers expected to leave the district next year will not be filled due to a decline in enrollment.

While the superintendent told MUSD staff and parents the district has no plans to hand out more pink slips to teachers, she expects 10 teachers to leave their posts next year, which won’t be filled. Although that could lead to larger class sizes next year, Hays said any increases would be small, as the district expects enrollment to drop by 140 students.

“We really have some lower class sizes that need to be addressed, and we are addressing those through (teacher) attrition,” Hays said.

With the district’s enrollment numbers continuing to slide, Hays said she will attempt to attract more students from neighboring districts by advertising in other cities about the schools and educational programs Moorpark has to offer.

By marketing Moorpark schools’ achievements—including students’ recent Common Core state standards test scores and the district’s plans to expand the college and career programs at the middle and high schools—Hays said, she hopes more families will be encouraged to enroll their children at MUSD.

*Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said MUSD meets with special-needs students "two to three times a year" regarding their Individualized Education Programs. While some students require that amount of frequency, the district, by law, only must hold one IEP meeting.

An earlier version also omitted the word "lower" from Superintendent Hays' comment regarding class sizes.

source : http://www.mpacorn.com/news/2016-04-01/Front_Page/Outside_contracts_for_special_ed_students_costing_.html