Rising cost of special education is concern for Hempfield ...

Hempfield?s growing population of special-needs students could plunge the district into uncharted territory when it comes time to prepare next year?s budget.Ruthann Crawford-Fisher, director of student services, presented school directors Tuesday with the most recent enrollment figures, which include a large percentage of special-education students.?There has been a steady stream (of new students) the last couple weeks,? she said. Hempfield?s first day of classes is Aug. 29.Crawford-Fisher said nearly three-quarters of new enrollments so far this fall will need special-education services.One student, she said, will require about $100,000 worth of special education services through the district.?We are seeing very costly and complex cases,? she said.The district?s enrollment currently stands at 6,953. Crawford-Fisher said 19.7 percent of Hempfield students are classified as special needs.Superintendent Brenda Becker said the 2011-12 budget ? which was painstakingly adopted in June following several cuts and staff concessions that eliminated a $6 million shortfall -? did not include funding for any new special needs students beyond the 2010-11 enrollment figures.Becker said the state recently eliminated several Act 1 exemptions that would have allowed school districts to raise taxes beyond a predetermined cap.Becker said superintendents across the state fought to keep special-education costs an allowed exemption ?along with retirement funding ? because ?these were the two expenses beyond our control.?Special-education costs, Becker said, could have an effect on district programs when officials begin work on the 2012-13 budget.Becker said public schools must take all students, including those with any kind of special need.One reason the district is suddenly seeing an influx of special-education students is the unwillingness of insurance companies to cover expenses related to the care that special needs students require, Becker said.?Insurance companies are denying payments to the family and the students are now the responsibility of the district,? she explained.Becker said attorneys representing parents of special-needs children are shifting the fight to cover expenses from the insurance companies to school districts.It is not uncommon, she said, for school districts to incur expensive legal bills to challenge the amount of money a family expects the district to cover.The legal fees are worth the effort when challenges go to arbitration and the district wins its case, which results in lower payments for a student?s care and needs, Becker said.Becker said regardless of the needs of any student, Hempfield will always provide every student with a quality education.Discussion regarding the impact of special-education costs was a subsequent part of a broad enrollment and demographic presentation from Crawford-Fisher.Some other things revealed to the school board included:? The district currently has 3,584 students enrolled throughout seven elementary schools, with between 438 to 580 students in each school.Hempfield?s three secondary schools have an enrollment of 3,369 students. The high school, with 2,235 students, has a population more than double the student body at Centerville and Landisville middle schools.? Twenty-six percent of the district?s population is at or below the poverty rate as determined by the state. ? Hempfield?s student population grew this year as the result of a slight decrease in enrollments in private, cyber charter or home schools.Forty-eight students ? 30 elementary and 18 secondary ? made the shift from private schools to public education.within the district, there are an estimated 1,056 students enrolled in private schools for the upcoming school year, 154 home-schooled students and 60 cyber charter school students.? Becker said word is getting out that Hempfield is a quality school district and steps have been implemented to prevent illegal enrollment. she said 43 students last year were found to be attending Hempfield schools illegally.Becker said it costs about $10,000 per student, annually, to educate a student in the district, and the financial impact of illegal students adds up quickly.Investigations, she said, revealed some parents outside the district were dropping their kids off at Hempfield bus stops.Crawford-Fisher said students who are classified as homeless or living with guardians in the Hempfield School District face more stringent paperwork to prove their eligibility to attend Hempfield.?We are asking for tax records and legal documents (of guardianship),? she said.Crawford-Fisher said 297 district students are classified as homeless and 277 are living with a legal guardian.? Crawford-Fisher said the state Department of Education recently made classification changes that resulted in racial definition shifts. The population of Latino students, she said, has increased to 865 students.The racial makeup of the district? includes 5,313 Caucasian, 305 African-American, 287 Asian, 18 American Indian/Eskimo, and 6 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.Crawford-Fisher said one classification shift involved students from India and Pakistan. they previously were classified as Caucasian, but are now classified by the state as Asian, she said.

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Rising cost of special education is concern for Hempfield

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