Wake school board will meet on special education cuts ‘to ensure transparency’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Board will meet Tuesday to discuss proposed $18M special ed cut.
- Proposal cuts 130 teaching positions; phases out Middle School Essentials.
- Administrators say IEP services remain; educators and parents demand cuts be restored.
Wake County school board chair Tyler Swanson has scheduled a special board meeting on Tuesday to discuss a controversial proposed $18 million cut to the special education budget.
This week, school administrators announced the $18 million cut, which will result in the elimination of 130 special education teaching positions. Swanson said the board needs to discuss the issue “to ensure transparency and accountability regarding the $18 million deficit in our special education budget.”
“As a former special education teacher, I am deeply concerned about the impact this will have on our students, our educators and our broader school community,” Swanson said in a statement Friday on his Facebook page. “These are not just numbers on a page — this is about real support, real services and real outcomes for children who depend on us.”
Swanson was a special education teacher at Enloe High School in Raleigh for three years before leaving the profession.
The special board meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The board meets at the district’s headquarters at 5625 Dillard Drive in Cary.
The meeting will be open to the public and will be streamed on the district’s YouTube channel.
Cuts have led to protests
The special education cuts were announced in conjunction with a preview of the budget that Superintendent Robert Taylor gave on Tuesday. Taylor said that the district will need to make budget reductions this year.
Taylor said in an interview Friday that they’re making the special education reductions now so that they don’t end up in a budget hole next school year.
The proposed special education cuts have sparked a backlash among educators and parents. On Thursday, the Wake County chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators held protests at schools around the county.
Wake NCAE wants Taylor to drop the proposed cut as well as ask the Wake County Board of Commissioners for more special education funding.
Citing the limited amount of revenue available, Taylor said he only plans to ask for a $25 million increase from the county instead of the average $49.7 million increase provided in the past four years.
What could be cut
Wake plans to eliminate 130 cross categorical resource (CCR) teaching positions. These teachers help monitor the academic progress and behavior of special education students.
Wake says the reductions will increase the caseload for the remaining CCR teachers but will still be within allowed state ratios. The district says special education students will continue to receive all the services outlined in their Individualized Education Programs.
“The thing I want to stress most is that there will not be a change in services,” Taylor said. “There will be zero changes in regional programs, meaning, if my child is in a self-contained classroom at Athens Drive High School, that same staffing and support is going to be there for that student, for that classroom. That’s not changing.”
Wake also plans to eliminate the cross-categorical kindergarten program that helps determine whether some students with disabilities can transition into regular classrooms. The district is also phasing out the Middle School Essentials program that provides small group instruction for special education students who need help with math and language arts.
‘Restoring trust with our community’
Wake NCAE has accused district leaders of being out of touch for proposing the special education cuts. It’s a charge that Taylor has denied.
Amid the accusations, the school board has been lobbied to step in. It will be up to the board whether to keep the special education reductions in the budget.
“I share the public’s concern and the urgency to address this issue directly,” Swanson said in his statement. “I hope that through this meeting, we will begin to provide clarity, answer questions and take meaningful steps toward restoring trust with our community. We owe our students and families nothing less.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 5:59 PM.
