by Jackie Nunnery
HEATHSVILLE—During an update to Northumberland supervisors on Thursday, March 13, assistant school superintendent Karen Leslie said she and director of special education and support services Jessica Rogers have been reviewing special education funding “line by line” to fulfill a federal funding requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), but were coming up short in the required level of expenses.
This could mean the school division would have to return state funds and possibly disqualify them for next year’s state special education funding, potentially a $700,000 “worse case scenario” hit to next year’s budget, according to Rogers and Leslie.
Rogers said the maintenance of effort (MOE) requires all public schools to spend at least the same amount of local dollars or local plus state dollars on special education and related services as were spent during the preceding fiscal year….
