By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
NEWPORT, N.H. — The Newport School Board unanimously accepted a $300,000 donation from the Crotched Mountain Foundation that is designed to improve the special education program in the district.
“I think that the need for improvement to our special education programs has been recognized, said board member Kathryn Boutin. “I think it has been demonstrated over and over again, that our special education programs need improvement. There’s been countless studies and I’ve personally encountered it.”
Superintendent Donna Magoon told the school board at their Sept. 12 meeting that the district received a grant from the foundation that would be for the next three years. This means $100,000 for this coming year, and the same for the following two. The program is for incentives to improve school climate, culture and offer a consultant for strengthening and developing special education programs, she said.
Magoon explained that the Crotched Mountain Foundation is a special education facility that backs special education programs. She said there have been “dings or marks” against the Newport special education department over the years, and hopes that these kinds of endeavors will help.
About 60% of the district has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which officials said is a huge chunk of the student population. This grant will help with training the administration on climate and culture in the district. Magoon said this training will start in October for all administrators and other district employees. There will also be a pre-K coach stipend coming from the grant to help the program be more robust for early learning.
A part of the grant includes a board-certified behavior analyst for training and coaching, to help with staff and students alike. Magoon added that there will be training for paraprofessionals to be Registered Behavior Technicians, as well.
The public had a chance to speak, both before and after the presentation. Prior to the presentation, Lisa Ferigno said students in general education classes are leaving the district. She is proud that Newport has always committed to educating all children without question, and that should include students enrolled in general education, as well.
“I am anxious to hear exactly how this donation of $300,000 will benefit all Newport students,” she said.
Boutin said several years they have been failing students in the special education department, nothing that a lot comes down to training, and this should help. She added that she hears the frustration about branching out and creating new programs, however. She hopes that she can keep in mind that money is not the only capital. There is plenty that can’t be done without the funds, but there is a lot of human capital, and they need to be taken care of so they can take care of the students at the school.
“I hear the frustration about diverting funds to special programs when we have such a hard time hiring people,” she said. “We don’t have enough case managers. We don’t even have enough people to run the special education programs we do have. Every time we use money to create something new it creates a whole host of other problems.”
School board member Ashley Glasscock added that the more training they can provide their staff for the students, the better.
The board voted unanimously to approve the grant, with Chair Steve Morris saying, “Let’s put that money to good use.”
