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Chuck Repke wrote: Has the district ever broken down how much of the budget is to pay for "unfunded or under funded mandates?" Also have we ever broken down how much of the budget is paid for support staff who's job is to fill out the forms necessary to get Federal or State dollars? Staying on the train of thought have we ever tried to compute how much of a teacher's time is spent on those tasks?
This opens up such an amazing can of worms. . . Last year, I, in conjunction with another teacher, had the ninth graders in our program research the connection of the underfunded federal special education mandates (mainly through Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - IDEA) to our district's (Mpls) budget woes. What the students and myself learned was that interpretation of the legislation makes all the difference. Many individuals/organizations fight for the federal government to uphold their promise of funding 40% of special education costs. Many individuals/organizations suggest that the legislation does not promise to pay for 40% of special education costs but rather 40% of the excess costs of educating students qualifying for special education services. Others argue that no such promise was made by the legislation at all. This is one of the problems.
Additionally, many of the mandates are so burdensome that with the caseloads, turnover rates, paperwork, meeting requirements, etc, many districts - and I suspect SPPS - are fined for non-compliance, sometimes to the tune of millions of dollars. Non-compliance when the capacity doesn't exist to comply is certainly an issue and a costly one at that.
Any thoughts/comments?
Brionna Harder Ward One
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