SWAMPSCOTT — Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Martha Raymond delivered an expansive presentation to the School Committee Thursday night outlining the scope of the district’s special education programming, while also warning of growing financial and student needs-related pressures tied to mental health, technology use, and rising out-of-district costs.
Raymond, who has worked in Swampscott since 2001, described the district’s special education department as both highly regulated and deeply personal, emphasizing that the work extends far beyond budgeting spreadsheets and enrollment charts.
“These are people that we’re talking about, not dollar signs,” Raymond said. “It’s an important investment.”
The presentation covered the district’s wide range of programs and services, including inclusion classrooms, language-based learning centers, autism programs, transition services for students up to age 22, and partnerships with North Shore Community College that allow students to take college courses while receiving district support.
Raymond said the district currently serves students with a broad range of needs, including autism, dyslexia, emotional disabilities, executive functioning challenges, and neurological disabilities. She highlighted the department’s team-based structure and pointed to the district’s most recent state review, which resulted in zero findings or corrective actions — something she described as uncommon among Massachusetts districts.
“We actually had no findings and had no corrective actions required,” Raymond said. “There are not many districts you can find that have that.”
Raymond also discussed how the district’s special education enrollment rose sharply during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, which she linked partly to learning loss and long-term academic impacts from remote learning. While the percentage of students on individualized education plans remains above the state average, Raymond said referrals have begun returning closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Beyond COVID-related impacts, Raymond said district leaders are increasingly concerned about the effect technology and smartphone use are having on students’ language development, attention spans, patience, and emotional regulation.
“We know that typing on a computer is not associated in the brain, or connected to the brain, to reading and language development and memory. The writing is,” Raymond said.
Raymond said younger students are now arriving at school having spent much of their early childhood interacting with screens rather than face-to-face experiences that naturally taught patience and delayed gratification.
“You can stream every show you want to watch right in a row,” Raymond said. “When we were growing up, we waited for that night.”
The presentation also focused heavily on special education finance, including rising tuition and transportation costs associated with out-of-district placements.
Raymond explained that private special education programs saw tuition increases as high as 14% in fiscal year 2024, while collaborative programs serving multiple districts increased between 8% and 12% this year.
She said one of the district’s biggest financial safeguards is the state’s “circuit breaker” reimbursement program, which helps offset high-cost special education expenses that arise after municipal budgets are already set.
“Special education expenses continue to occur after the budget process and town allocation occurs,” Raymond said. “Holding the current year circuit breaker … is critical to ensure the rights of families are protected and that special education costs are not pitted against general education policy.”
School Committee Chair Glenn Paster warned that relying too heavily on current-year reimbursements to balance budgets could eventually create larger financial problems for the town.
“At some point, unless this is fixed, we’re going to run into a problem,” Paster said.
Raymond also noted that Swampscott’s special education staffing levels have declined in recent years despite increasing student needs, saying the department has become more efficient through collaboration with neighboring districts and careful annual budgeting.
Toward the end of the presentation, committee members repeatedly praised the work of Raymond and her staff, pointing not only to the department’s performance metrics but also to the way families are treated throughout what can often be emotional and stressful situations.
“I just want to give kudos to the entire team,” School Committee member Katie Arrington said. “Special education is emotional for the families and for the district, and I just think you do it with class and with kindness.”
Committee Chair Glenn Paster closed the discussion by emphasizing that special education services are ultimately about preparing students for life beyond school.
“These skills that we teach our students of greatest need follows them through,” Paster said. “At any moment, anyone can become a member of the Student Services Division.”
