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STAMFORD, Conn. With only six classrooms and more students entering the special education program each year, resources are lacking in the Stamford Public Schools, said R. Wayne Holland, director of Special Education Services.
This is a nightmare; this is a fear, Holland said, explaining his dwindling resources and increasing number of students needing special education at a Board of Education fiscal committee budget meeting Wednesday night.
Holland and others in his department meet with each set of parents at least once a year to discuss their childs Individualized Education Program. By June, nearly 500 of those meetings will have been held this school year, an increase from 350 meetings last year. Class sizes have also increased from 10 to 12 students up to 20 to 22 now in the past couple of years, Holland said.
The student population is expected to continue to rise. The state has released information that 60 children currently in Stamford already show severe symptoms, three of whom would need 24-hour nursing care, said Edith Presley, an assistant director of Special Education Services.
To ease some of the burden, Special Education Services requested an additional $800,000 for next years budget, which would include five more teachers and five more paraeducators. However, it does not make up for the lack of space or other beneficial services, Holland said.
The amount requested was limited because Interim Superintendent Winifred Hamilton asked all departments to keep increases as small as possible. Board of Education Vice President Jerry Pia wants Hollands office to submit a list of the other needed services to the Board of Finance.
This is something we have to go after, Pia said during Wednesday night's meeting.
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