Special education

Hiring versus placing

Placements fell while in-district budgets rose; nothing published shows one caused the other.

1 · The facts

  • 30

    placed out of district, FY2015

  • 10

    placed out of district, FY2025

  • $4,865,038

    in district, FY2025 budget (our lines)

    our estimate

  • $5,466,201

    in district, FY2027 balanced budget (our lines)

    our estimate

  • $1,291,293

    tuition budgeted, FY2026

  • $700,142

    tuition budgeted, FY2027

  • —

    staff cost to keep one child in district

    not published

2 · What it shows

  1. 1

    Placements fell from 30 in FY2015 to 10 in FY2025, on the town’s own count.

  2. 2

    Our in-district lines rose from $4,865,038 in FY2025 to $5,466,201 in FY2027, as tuition was budgeted down.

  3. 3

    The two series barely overlap in time, and neither shows that hiring kept a child here.

Sources

What changed

Version 15 — updated September 20, 2026