In the 2nd or 3rd grades, when assignments require better skills, reading, writing and other learning problems usually surface. When they change from one classroom and one teacher in elementary school, to junior high, it's stressful on a kid. Publicly, special education has been praised as New Hampshire's civil rights movement. Privately, it's often despised as a financial drain on the state's communities. With taxpayers footing a major chunk of the bill, educating the disabled is touching all residents.
Expenses can drastically change overnight when a disabled student moves into town.
That makes the budget stressful for those paying and spending the money to educate all students. Administrators say Monadnock Region voters have supported increased funding when special education needs increased. However, residents may privately hold their breath, hoping no new special needs children arrive in their community, and publicly hold thei r tongues when school budgets are voted on each year. People usually feel all right about the kids they have in their town. Funding could be the biggest hurdle in the Granite State as special education moves toward a new phase in the next century.