Over the past decade, New Hampshire school districts have left unspent more than $10 million in federal aid for special education, at a time when many school administrators complain that the crushing costs of special needs programs are challenging local budgets.
Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut is trying to work out a deal with the U.S. Department of Education to keep the money for special-needs programs in Granite State schools before it reverts to the federal treasury.
“The money is sitting available in a federal appropriation for us to draw down and use, and we haven’t drawn it down,” says Edelblut, who discovered the available cash in a review of accounts.
