CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Tuesday night study session for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System’s School Board presented the 2011-12 “State of the Schools” with a heavy focus on technology and the increasing number of special education students.
The State of the Schools was presented to the board in the form of a video that director Mike Harris said would be made immediately available to the public online. Throughout the year the increasing numbers of special education students along with ever decreasing funding has been a big concern for CMCSS.
“We are seeing an incredible growth in special education,” said Harris.
According to the director the increase in numbers is due in large part to the military. CMCSS is one of only nine areas attached to military installations that provide access to large medical facilities specializing with special need children. Harris told the school board that in May the number of military children in special education in CMCSS was 780. As of Tuesday night that number has grown to 1167.
Not wanting to give the board the wrong impression Harris explained, “We welcome them.”
The director’s concern was primarily with the continuous cuts in Federal funding for special education. Harris explained that special education funding was not cut once, but twice this school year. As funding decreases, the special needs population in CMCSS continues to increase.
According to Harris, the primary goal of the system is to provide every child in CMCSS gets the best education possible. As funding shrinks, that becomes more and more difficult.
For a full list of scheduled events for the school system or to find out more about CMCSS, visit them on the web at www.cmcss.net .
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