HUMBOLDT — Special education funding is a balancing act for ANW Cooperative. As resources decrease, the demands grow, Robert Coleman, ANW Co-op director, said, and funding is a struggle.
Further straining its budget is the requirement by next June to provide health insurance for its 225 paraprofessionals who have been denied the coverage until now with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
“It will be a challenge for next year and it is another looming cost,” Coleman said. “I do believe these people need healthcare and they should have been covered.”
The mandate to provide the health insurance did not come with additional funds.
The Cooperative covers eight school districts in Allen, Anderson, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties.
The co-op will have two registered nurses next year and four to five licensed practical nurses to help meet the demands of children who need medical assistance.
In efforts to adjust to a reduced budget, the co-op will cut five positions next year despite the fact more special needs children are being enrolled in the public school system. Coleman said funding from Medicaid — a state and federally funded program — keeps going down.
Coleman said Governor Sam Brownback has made claims that he has not decreased funding, which is partly true. The money has stayed the same amount for the last few years.
“What happens is the money goes into a pot for transportation costs, special ed teacher reimbursement and catastrophic aid,” Coleman said.
Trouble is, when the funding is distributed, certain categories to precedence.
Transportation comes in first, followed by catastrophic aid, and then, finally, the remaining funds are alloted to special ed.
Over the years transportation costs have fluctuated due to gas prices. When funding hasn’t increased to help match these expenses it’s as if the money has decreased, Coleman said.
It’s also hard to recruit teachers for this particular education field.
“Demand is going up in special education but the resources are not,” Coleman said.
Coleman has been a special education educator for 30 years. He likes to see the students thrive.
