Montgomery County Public Schools system is holding work sessions this month before finalizing a special education plan for next fiscal year that recommends spending more than $800,000 on increased staffing.

The plan, which was unveiled in December, is a supplement to the nearly $2 billion overall budget the school system will use to fund all of its programs in fiscal 2008. According to officials, a review of the school system’s special education budget numbers shows large funding increases in the last three years.

For instance, in fiscal 2005 the county spent nearly $157 million on the salaries of its special education employees. With supply costs, contracted services and equipment costs factored in, the school system doled out about $194 million for what school leaders call “maintenance of effort.”

Compare those numbers with next fiscal year when the school system is projected to spend approximately $204 million on special education staff salaries and $242 million for maintenance of effort costs.

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Each past four years, more than three-quarters of the funds came from local dollars.

This school year, Montgomery County Public Schools has 17,152 students receiving special education services. Of those, 16,032 receive services in a general education building, 493 in a separate public special education school, 13 in their homes and 614 in a nonpublic special education building.

According to the special education plan, the percentage of special education students able to learn in their home school or cluster has increased annually. The staffing strategy for next fiscal year will not be finally decided until the end of this school year.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com