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. Shumway, the state official, says the balance between containing special-education costs and maintaining quality will become ever tenuous. He says New Hampshire is still among the best states in the country in providing special education, but it has enormous financial problems to overcome. As residents, educators and politicians consider funding for special education, Shumway asks them to include quality in the calculations. The last two w eeks of someone's life costs more than teaching a kid to read.