More security may cost schools special ed teachers
A deadly rampage by an emotionally disturbed student has highlighted a need to improve special education services, but the Parkland tragedy is also siphoning money needed to make that happen, district officials say.
The Broward County School Board says it doesn’t have enough teachers to ensure students get the services they need and wants to add more.
While it’s unclear whether that was a factor in why Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, it has led the state to make major investments in school security. Broward expects to receive about $14 million for school resource officers and mental health counselors.
But that money comes at the expense of regular funds the district receives, Superintendent Robert Runcie said Tuesday. He said the security money, combined with a cut in a supplement given to high cost-of-living counties, is resulting in a $16.75 per student cut, or a $4.5 million loss for non-security-related expenses, he said.
The district’s only hope would be for Gov. Rick Scott to veto the budget and require the Legislature to provide more funds, Runcie said.
“This is extremely appalling,” School Board member Rosalind Osgood said. “Everyone is focusing on school safety, but people don’t know the money is coming from somewhere else. It’s not any new money. It’s a tradeoff.”
At the same time, school district studies have shown the district is in dire need of more support facilitators, who manage students’ education plans in addition to teaching some classes and working with them in small groups.
The district would like to double the number of these teachers. Right now, they each handle about 61 students, compared to an average caseload of fewer than 25 students in Palm Beach County and 28 in MiamiDade. Experts say it’s hard to provide adequate services to students when teachers have such a large caseload.
The district said it would cost about $40 million to hire the 548 teachers needed to lower the ratio to one teacher per 25 students. The district has also estimated the costs if each teacher had 30 students ($29 million), 40 students ($14.7 million) and 50 students ($6.2 million).
Runcie and School Board members said the district may need to phase in more special education teachers over several years, rather than meeting the need all in one year. And some board members say it’s time to take out the budgetary ax.
“We can’t go into another budget session without cutting,” Laurie Rich Levinson said. “We can’t just keep adding things without removing things. We’ll get to a breaking point.”
Another unknown is whether the district will need to spend money to make any changes recommended in a Tallahassee consultant’s report scheduled to be completed in June. Collaborative Educational Network will review the academic, social and emotional services provided to Cruz during his time in the school district and what improvements could be made.
An education plan suggests he was doing well overall at a school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, although he also spoke of a fascination with guns and war.
Cruz tended to struggle more at Stoneman Douglas,where he got into trouble for fighting, being disrespectful and committing a minor assault.
He revoked his right to receive special education services after he turned 18 and was moved to a credit recovery program that offered little to no mental health counseling.
stravis@sun-sentinel.com, 561-243-6637 or Twitter @smtravis.