Mary Byrne
Since the pandemic, the number of Belmont students with disabilities — and the cost to provide them services — have skyrocketed.
According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, there are 688 students with disabilities in the Belmont schools, many of whom are sent out-of-district because Belmont doesn’t have the services to meet their needs. And it’s incredibly expensive.
In fiscal year 2025, the Belmont school system is projected to spend $13 million -– or about 20% of its total budget — on out-of-district tuition and transportation for students with disabilities. In fiscal year 2019, the cost was about $7.5 million.
Since 2020, the number of students with disabilities has increased by nearly 34%. Statewide, that number grew by 5%.
Belmont doesn’t have much control over the cost of sending students to other districts. For example, last year, the state increased private out-of-district tuition for special education by 14%.
“The cost of the schools is real,” Select Board member Mark Paollilo said, referring, in particular, to the rising cost of special education.
If voters approve the $8.4 million Proposition 2½ override in April, Superintendent Jill Geiser will invest about $500,000 to provide some special education services in Belmont.
The money would allow the district to invest in two special education teachers, two aides, an evaluation team leader, and funding for training and curriculum. The goal is to reduce the number of students who would have to go out-of-district.
“We’re at a critical moment where we really need to add some programming for special education in-district,” said School Committee Chair Meghan Moriarty. “It’s good for our students, but it’s good for the town in the long term, financially.”
“I think that’ll be a huge initiative and a really positive one over the next couple years,” Moriarty said.
Pandemic Recovery: Economic and Educational
Belmont, along with the rest of the state, is still recovering from the pandemic. Moriarty said her children’s learning was disrupted in third and fourth grade, affecting the development of their math skills.
“Other parents who have students in [kindergarten and first grade], you see this disrupted learning of literacy,” she said. “While it’s been a couple years and we invested in some services … people ask, ‘Can’t you go back to what you had before?’ I think the pendulum has swung and I don’t think it’ll go back to what it was. We have a demand for more services and those services cost more money.”
Another impact of the pandemic has been financial. Three years ago, when the town rejected a $6.4 million override, the district had one-time, COVID-related emergency funds to make up for any budget shortfalls, Moriarty said. But in the absence of an override this spring, “sweeping reductions would be needed.”
“I don’t think anybody could have ever predicted a pandemic, and I don’t think anybody could have predicted a shift in Belmont in the way it is shifting,” Moriarty said.
