A call for an evaluation of special education services offered by the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District (TBAISD) was made Monday night by the Glen Lake Board of Education.

Board members took no action on a contract for services provided by the TBAISD. The agreement, acted upon annually, describes what the regional district will do for the school. and how it will be done.

“Part of the state code states that the schools will provide feedback to the ISD on school needs,” Superintendent Joan Groening said. “This assessment hasn’t been done.”

In Michigan, 57 Intermediate School Districts provide special education and technical training to students locally. Among the many services provided, the ISD provides a team comprised of a social worker, psychologist and teaching consultant that evaluates students and sets up Individual Education Plans (IEPs) to address learning needs.

The ISD also serves as a “watchdog” of sorts for local districts by helping them navigate state and federal laws and keep up with the corresponding required paperwork.

Additionally, more severely impaired students are transported to Traverse City for center-based learning, where children with similar challenges are grouped for instruction through the ISD.

But as time changes so have the needs, say local school boards, including Glen Lake. Improved diagnostics have helped identify special education students sooner, which has lead to a mushrooming number of “special needs” children among the student body.

For example, 20 years ago, the Leland School District had one special education student and a part-time teacher. Now, the school has three special education teachers and could use more, according to superintendent Mike Hartigan.

While state funding increases have not kept pace with jumps in health insurance premiums and retirement costs, the TBAISD’s fund balances in three budget areas — special education, general and vocational education —grew by more than $1 million apiece in the last year. The audit of June 30, 2006 shows a fund balance of expenditures of 45.5 percent. The special education budget had a fund balance of 31.7 percent of expenditures at that time.

Leland’s Board of Education has been the most outspoken organization with regard to the ISD and has more than once withheld its endorsement of the ISD budget in protest.

“We want to open dialogue about the delivery model and things that could be changed for an effective and efficient use of resources,” Groening said.

Meanwhile, the board of education in Northport has learned what its costs will be for an administrative law hearing involving an appeal of a special education student’s IEP. The board did, however, approve the TBAISD special education service agreement.

In other business during the regular monthly meeting the board:

• Approved the 5th grade trip to Chicago scheduled for early May;

• Approved the itinerary for the annual band trip to Mackinaw City over Memorial Day weekend;

• Authorized the board president, superintendent and/or business manager to sign checks for the sinking fund;

• Authorized the board president, superintendent and/or business manager to sign check on the scholarship account.