Jackson School District Presents Plans to Bolster Special Ed
November 17, 2009
Jackson, NJ – At tonight’s Jackson Township Schools Board of Education meeting, district representatives presented a plan to increase funding and expenditures for the education of special needs children by bringing more township special needs students currently being sent to facilities outside the district back to Jackson’s schools.
The presentation identified the need for more special needs teachers, consultants and space within our district to accommodate the return of these children back to Jackson’s schools. The school officials were unable to answer questions about whether or not this new program will end up saving or costing the district more money, but the announcement comes during a time when funding and programs for the general student population have been cut drastically in recent years by school budgets which have been rejected by township voters.
Superintendent Tom Gialanella stated that millions of dollars in federal stimulus money earmarked for education primarily will be used as the initial seed funding for the ambitious new goals for special needs education expected by the district.
Jackson’s school district has taken this bold approach to become a leader in special needs education, backed by a school board where many of the board members have children in these special needs program leading the charge to improve the local programs available to children in need.
Where do all of these programs leave the general student population? Currently Jackson Township’s school district boasts one of the lowest cost per pupil ratios in Ocean County, but the board was unable to give details about where the district ranks when it comes to the cost per special needs student, which after these ambitious programs go live, could see Jackson in the top of the county when it comes to cost per special needs pupil, leaving an uneasy imbalance for most parents and taxpayers to burden.
While the district and the school board have given special needs children the special attention they deserve, unfortunately, on the other side of the spectrum, programs and funding for most students, in particular, advanced placement students and programs for students who may need an extra challenge have seen dramatic cuts in recent budgets with a special needs heavy school board leading the charge there as well.
While the majority of the current school board have children with special needs enrolled in the district, it is no wonder that these programs are now being given priority over the needs of the general student population. The school board also provided no details on where these returning students would be placed considering that most elementary schools are already utilizing educational trailers to compensate for overcrowding in the actual school buildings.