kitchen table math, the sequel: NY SPED increases -- affluent vs nonaffluent districts

Thursday, June 14, 2012

NY SPED increases -- affluent vs nonaffluent districts

following up on my previous post:

New York City per pupil
2000-01 – 2009-10
Gen ed: $6675
Gen ed: $11105
% change GenEd: 66%

2000-01 – 2009-10
SPED: $14979
SPED: $26888
% change SPED: 80%



Roosevelt per pupil
2000-01 – 2009-10
Gen ed: $6833
Gen ed: $13281
% change GenEd: %94

2000-01 – 2009-10
SPED: $27251
SPED: $44576
% change SPED: 64%



Scarsdale per pupil
2000-01 – 2009-10
Gen Ed: $10,513
Gen Ed: $17,324
% change GenEd: 65%

2000-01 – 2009-10
SPED: $18,202
SPED: $43,130
% change SPED: 137%



Great Neck
2000-01 – 2009-10
Gen Ed: $10388
Gen Ed: $15893
% change GenEd: 53%

2000-01 – 2009-10
SPED: $21509
SPED: $41955
% change SPED: 95%
at peak, in 2008-09:
SPED: $44291
% change SPED: 100%

source:
Citizens Budget Commission

Scarsdale is one of the most affluent districts in the country. Great Neck is pretty affluent, too.

Both are predominantly white.

This data is interesting because NCLB required that special education students take the same state tests everyone else was taking. Prior to passage of NCLB, black/Hispanic* students were being put into special education, where they were exempt from state tests.

One might think that NCLB would produce a much larger spike in SPED spending in towns and cities with large black/Hispanic populations. But here we see the opposite: predominantly white districts show an enormous spike in SPED spending, far above the hike in spending on general education, and well above the hike in SPED spending by majority-white districts.


* I assume the same phenomenon was happening with Hispanic students, but I don't actually know.


2 comments:

Catherine Johnson said...

Is this a picture of "parent involvement in the schools"?

lgm said...

http://www.empirecenter.org/Special-Reports/2005/08/helping_kids_sa.cfm has some analysis of sped population change over the years.

The view from the parking lot here is that transportation is expensive (our district rents classrooms to boces as well as sends students to boces classrooms physically located outside the district) -- these students are all in small busses with one driver/bus and an aide per student. That adds up to a large chunk of change when total compensation is used.

Then there is the cost of instruction. All instruction for inclusion is double period in English and Math. The teaching staff is increased by one certified sped teacher per classroom as well as multiple 1:1 aides - all of which get health care in addition to salary and retirement.