Hundreds more children are expected to enter Hamilton County’s exceptional education program next fall, driving up costs even as the Department of Education looks for ways to cut $14 million from its budget.
Officials with exceptional education, which includes special education and gifted programs, are asking the Hamilton County Department of Education for at least $850,000 in additional funding. And to staff all its programs adequately, the program is asking for a total increase of between $1.3 million and $1.4 million in next year’s budget.
In all, more than 70 additional teachers, assistants, speech pathologists and others are needed to accommodate the growth in exceptional education, officials said.
“This is not fluff,” said Margaret Abernathy, director of exceptional education. “This funding is to provide appropriate programs for these children that is mandated by federal and state law.”
Roughly 400 more children will enter special education classes in the 2011-12 school year, Abernathy predicts. That’s because more students are testing into the program, which she attributes to more people moving to Hamilton County.