Olathe schools cut staff, raise class sizes as special ed funding falls short
For the first time, Olathe Public Schools plans to cut special education positions next year, even as more students need services, to make up for a year-to-year gap in funding, according to district officials.
Olathe Schools shifted $44 million from its general fund to cover special education costs last year — a strain the superintendent says now forces staff reductions, leading to larger class sizes and fewer supports for every student, not just those with special needs.
The district will hire far fewer teachers and plans to reduce the overall number of special education staff, largely by leaving positions unfilled and consolidating roles, said Superintendent Brent Yeager.
To absorb ongoing transfers from the general fund, new hires across the district will also shrink.
Olathe Schools normally hires around 200 certified/licensed staff per year. Next year they plan to hire only about 100, effectively cutting that number in half, Yeager said.
“We are staffed really tightly, and we will continue to be that way,” Yeager said. “The large driving factor is the underfunding of special education.”
Why is SPED underfunded?
Yeager said districts like Olathe are at a crossroads with funding special education (SPED). After years of lobbying the Kansas legislature, they can no longer wait for increases on the state level and have to make changes in their respective districts, he said.
Kansas uses a partial reimbursement model for SPED. It calculates statewide “excess costs” by taking total anticipated special education expenses and subtracting the general education funding a SPED student already generates. Then, it subtracts any federal SPED funds received. The remaining amount is the “excess cost.”
By state law, the legislature is supposed to fund 92% of those excess costs, but since 2011, the legislature has not appropriated enough to reach that mark.
The actual covered percentage of excess costs has fluctuated over the years. In the 2023-24 school year, Kansas covered 71.6% of excess costs. In 2024-25, that number increased to 75.4%, according to data from the Kansas State Department of Education.
This school year, around 67.2% of excess costs are being covered. Next year, it’s likely that number will shrink slightly to around 65.2%, based on a budget passed by both chambers this legislative session.
The State Board of Education requested $145 million for next year, which would have pushed funding to about 80% of excess costs.
The Governor’s recommendation was $50.2 million, aiming for around 70%.
However, lawmakers have cited overall budget constraints (state revenues vs. expenses) as the main barrier to higher SPED appropriations.
School districts across Johnson County argue that with reduced student enrollment, the legislature already has the funds available to fully fund SPED.
Instead, those districts are likely to transfer tens of millions of dollars from their general funds to cover those costs.
“We’re legally required to (cover SPED costs), so there really is no decision-making for us other than whatever it costs to provide those services is the amount of money that we have to transfer,” Yeager said.
Rising education costs
Yeager stressed that fully funding SPED at the state level would still not completely cover the $44 million transferred from Olathe Schools’ general fund last year.
Based on last year’s numbers, if SPED was fully funded to the statutory level, the district would have received an additional $23 million in assistance, still leaving the district to use $21 million from the general fund.
This is because SPED costs have been rising on the whole for districts, according to a spokesperson at the Kansas State Department of Education.
“Many districts are faced with declining enrollment because of birth rates and some other things,” said Frank Harwood, deputy commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education.
“That exacerbates the problem and does keep districts from being able to plan for improving things, when really what they’re trying to do is… maintain programs,” Harwood said.
Data shows costs are rising faster than SPED funding at both the state and federal levels, Harwood said.
As a result, it’s harder to innovate or start new programs in schools because they’re focused on maintaining existing services and closing funding gaps, Harwood said.
This is especially true among districts like Olathe, which faces a stark decline in enrollment, and therefore, revenue shortfalls.
Between fiscal years 2024 and 2025, costs for special education in Johnson County increased 11%, according to data compiled by all districts in the county.
Olathe’s neighbor, Blue Valley, needs to redirect $18 million from its general fund to help pay for SPED programs this year.
News about potential cuts at Blue Valley prompted families to show up at school board meetings to advocate for beloved programs.
“It can be difficult to think about, ‘what are the new things we should be doing,’ when you have to be thinking about, ‘how do we reduce costs in the things we’re already doing,’” Harwood said.
What’s at stake for Olathe families?
In a phone call last week, Yeager did not indicate that there are student programs on the chopping block.
However, Yeager said every student is likely to feel the effect — larger class sizes, staffing levels, and fewer resources for innovations — not just SPED students with IEPs, or individualized education programs.
Yeager said Olathe and other Johnson County School districts have built a reputation for strong specialized programs that families have moved closer to for access.
That reputation is positive for kids, but it intensifies funding pressures under an underfunded state system, Yeager said.
It’s leading Olathe Schools to now reduce special education staff at the same time the number of students in need of special education support is growing.
Next year, Olathe Schools will leave many district-level positions unfilled and combine or consolidate roles, Yeager said.
This likely results in special education teachers and specialists handling more cases, increasing workloads in a job category that’s already difficult to staff.
“Our belief is that those kinds of programs, but also our continuum of services, is one of the reasons why our special education numbers are growing in our district, because there’s a reputation that we do good work,” Yeager said.
“… People move here because of those services, and that’s part of the challenge we face in terms of funding,” he said.
