‘All Kids Count’ Wants Equal Funding For Special Ed

State and local education officials say that the lack of state funding for our educational system’s “most vulnerable children” cannot continue. With the governor’s budget failing to restore full funding levels for special education, local and state officials hope the house and senate budgets will address these concerns.

Currently, local officials and public advocacy groups say that special education funding has not been fully restored since significant cuts following fiscal 2009. Meanwhile, regular education funding has not only been restored to fiscal 2009 levels but increased.

Directory for public advocacy at the Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools (MAAPS) Lauren Burm said that the governor’s fiscal 2012 budget restored the special education circuit breaker funding to $213,119,160, roughly $17 million short of their prior levels.

Meanwhile, regular education was restored fiscal 2009 levels and then increased by $139 million. This is why MAAPS, along with schools across the state, is pushing their "All Kids Count" campaign.

“We represent the kids that have the most severe disabilities in the state,” said Burm. “We are trying to highlight the huge discrepancy between our schools and regular public schools. We don’t like pitting ourselves against regular education schools, but we have no choice.”

, located on River Road, is a local school that deals with some of the more severely-affected special education children in the state.

Executive director Rita Gardner said that Melmark New England offers consulting services to and doesn’t mind doing so, but wishes that funding levels were equalized.

“We try to collaborate with the public schools. But without the funding to do that, it makes it very, very difficult,” said Gardner. “We don’t want our most vulnerable children left behind.”

MAAPS has launched their “All Kids Count Count” campaign to urge legislators and the Patrick administration to restore funding levels to fiscal 2009 levels, which is roughly $230 million total for the state.

Here is contact information for Andover’s state senator and state representatives:

• State Senator Barry R. Finegold (D, Andover) Barry.Finegold@MASenate.gov Room 416B in the State House. Phone: 617-722-1612.
• State Representative Paul Adams (R, Andover) Paul.Adams@mahouse.gov Room 39 in the State House. Phone: 617-722-2014.
• State Representative James J. Lyons, Jr (R, Andover) james.lyons@mahouse.gov  in the State House. Phone: Room 39 617-722-2014.