Thursday, June 4, 1998 | 9:18 a.m.
Gloria Dopf of the state Education Department said when the state covered all the local school district costs when it began funding "special education units" in 1973. A special education unit is basically the cost of a teacher and classroom.
By the late 1980s, Dopf said the state had cut its share of the cost to about 60 percent of the average price of operating a special education classroom.
Now, she said, local school districts are paying 60 percent and the state just 40 percent.
Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who is heading the study of special education needs and school discipline, said it's her understanding that actual costs for a special education unit are about $45,000.
"I want to hear from the districts whether they are funding special education at the expense of general education funding," she said.
Giunchigliani, a special education teacher in Clark County, said her committee will make recommendations on funding for special education to the upcoming legislative session.
The committee was also to make recommendations on a laundry list of recommendations for tightening student discipline in public schools but held off taking any votes because some members, including Assemblywoman Kathy Von Tobel, R-Las Vegas, and Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, were absent from Tuesday's session.
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