Parents of special needs children love the Coupeville School District, but it can no longer sustain the added expense.
As a result, the school board Nov. 20 approved a policy to restrict enrollment of elementary and middle school special education students who live outside district boundaries.
The money the district receives from the state isn’t enough to cover the costs of serving special education students. The Coupeville School District is expecting to spend $830,000 for special education while receiving only $767,000 in funding this year. Restricting nonresident special education students is needed to prevent more strain on current resources.
“It’s just too taxing on our staff and our resources,†Superintendent Bill Myhr said.
He said families outside the school district find Coupeville appealing because they believe their children’s needs are better served in a small-school environment.
However, the additional students puts the school district close to the point where the state cuts off special education funding.
The state provides additional funding for special education programs but that money stops when the population reaches 12.7 percent of the total student count. The school district receives funding based on the number of students and, if numbers go above the threshold, then officials have to dip into other money sources to serve special education programs.
School officials decided to restrict special education enrollment when percentages in the elementary school reached 13.56 percent and percentages at the middle school reached 15.6 percent. Overall, 12.1 percent of the students in the Coupeville School District receive some type of special education service.
There are currently 133 special education students in the Coupeville School District ages birth to 21. Of that amount, 55 attend the elementary school and 37 attend the middle school. Officials don’t have a breakdown of how many special education students come from outside the district however, there are a total 153 students attending the 1,096-student school district.
Current special education students that live outside the school district can still attend school in Coupeville.
Business Manager Janet Fisher said tending to students varies depending on individual needs. In some cases, students have to be sent to Sedro-Woolley or Oak Harbor, at school district expense, for schooling. The needs vary depending on the type of learning disability or health condition a student may have.
“You never know what you get walking in the door,†Fisher said.
Tending to student needs can cost more than the district receives in its per student allocation. The school district receives an additional $4,500 from the state for every special education student. However, costs vary widely. For example, if one student needs an aide to provide one-on-one attention, it could cost the school district approximately $25,000 for the year.
