As school districts across the state prepare their budgets for next year, many are running into the same problem: insufficient funding for exceptional children, or EC, departments.
The state caps EC funding at 13% of a district’s total student population.
But at a recent budget workshop, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Don Phipps said the district’s actual EC population is more like 16%.
“I can tell you that post-COVID, the numbers have gone up. And I would argue, because I've seen it, that the significance of the things that we're dealing with post-COVID are greater than what we dealt with," Phipps said. "The mental health issues that are on the rise and the struggles that we have with young children.”
Amid the district’s financial crisis over the last year, the EC department faced some of the most significant cuts. Restoring those positions is a top priority, but without increased state funding, it might not be possible.
And the issue is impacting other districts, too. Guilford County Schools Superintendent Whitney Oakley spoke about tough decisions she’s had to make at a recent budget meeting.
“We had no choice but to increase the number of students served by caseload, because we don't have funding to hire more teachers," Oakley said. "No one wanted to increase caseloads. We did let people know it was coming. But it's difficult. The whole state’s feeling it.”
And now both districts are advocating for change.
Guilford County Schools’ legislative agenda calls for changing the EC funding cap from 13% to 16% and moving toward a weighted funding model that reflects the severity of student needs.
Increasing state allotments for EC teachers and assistants is one of the proposed legislative priorities for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, too.
The state began talking about changing the funding formula a few years ago, but no action was taken.