State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-146th Dist., has been appointed to the Special Education Funding Commission, a statehouse committee that will give him say over the skyrocketing costs of special education. “Ensuring fair funding of education is one of my top priorities. I am ready to get to work to ensure those school districts with the greatest special education needs are recognized and funded fairly, since having access to fair resources is what our students deserve,” Ciresi said.

Pottstown's special education population has grown from 3 percent of its total in 1980 to nearly 20 percent today, Pottstown School Board member Thomas Hylton wrote in a recent column. According to Hylton's analysis, the 20 most expensive special education students cost the Pottstown School District more than $2.1 million a year. Read Mr. Evan Brandt's Digital Notebook Blog for the full stor