This is a followup to a series of posts about the substantial breakdown of the special education system in Baltimore. With plenty of finger pointing going around and the prospect of jail time for contempt of court, the Baltimore school officials moved to appeal the federal court’s orders. After nearly 22 years of litigation, the parties appear to have finally reached a resolution of sorts and have moved to dismiss their appeal. Download Schools To Drop Appeal.doc
The public comments of the parties, however, do not sound like those of parties that have reached resolution. The Maryland state officials have made statements that appear skeptical of local officials’ willingness to act to correct the system. The local officials’ comments appear firm in the belief that they are being asked to do the impossible and are in effect being "picked on." Whether the agreement will lead to real change after being habituated to litigation over 22 years appears doubtful; more likely a lull in the action.
The irony of the case is that the local school officials recently approved payments of $1.25 million for 2 school law firms, but are objecting to the cost of state managers that are to oversee the implementation of compensatory services to children with special needs. The irony is that the amount for these managers is almost equal to the amount paid to the attorneys:
"City officials have also said the order would have a serious financial
drain on the system, which must pay the salaries of the state managers.
The system is budgeting $1.3 million for the salaries next school year."
So paying the school district attorneys $1.25 million dollars appears to be all in the ordinary course of business, but paying state managers to oversee the provision of services is a :serious drain" on government coffers. I guess it depends on what your fiscal priorities are–children or defending the indefensible/keeping yourself out of jail.