KEY QUOTE: "When money must be transferred from general education to cover SPED, money is taken away from all kids to support the education of a smaller number of kids with more expensive needs. That means there’s less money available to ensure a quality education for everyone — and less money local boards have available to address other local priorities."

Letters to the Editor: USD 383 Community Should Help Local Special Education

• There’s no refuting the current system of funding Special Education needs to be overhauled and simplified. However, until the legislature accomplishes this cumbersome and heavily politicized task, citizens need to understand why not fully funding SPED hurts all public school students.
  
  
• It costs much more to educate and serve special education students than general education students. By statute, the State of Kansas is required to reimburse local school districts at the end of each fiscal year 92% of the “excess costs.” The State of Kansas hasn’t paid its share since 2011.
  
  
• One of the biggest challenges for local districts is that we don’t know how much SPED reimbursement we will get until the very end of the fiscal year. Since we can’t end the year with a deficit by law, we must reserve enough funds to cover what the state shorts us. Last fiscal year, the amount 383 general funds had to subsidize was nearly $4 million.
  
  
• But until this SPED funding issue is resolved, our general operating budgets will continue to be shorted by millions annually, limiting our ability to prioritize these important issues. It’s time we demand the legislature fully fund SPED.