The Wise Minnick School for students with special education needs in far Southwest Virginia is closing due to a change in the reimbursement policy by local government, school officials say.
The 17 students currently enrolled at the K-8 school in Big Stone Gap will be transitioned out of their classrooms over a nine-week period, with the school officially closing Oct. 9. Some students will return to public schools, while there are different options for others, including in-home education.
Officials at Minnick Schools, a network of nonprofit schools in western Virginia, said the decision was made after Wise and Lee County Community Policy and Management teams, which oversee youth services in their communities, decided not to reimburse Minnick for all the days when students were absent or receiving virtual instruction.
The limit took effect last year under new contracts and remains in place for the upcoming school year per a contract with Wise County.
The cap covers seven days of excused absences per semester, 14 per academic year. It also includes five days of unexcused absences and 10 virtual days a year, according to the chair of the Wise County CPM board.
The change was a shift away from the procedure in the past, said Terri Webber, vice president of program operations for Minnick Schools.
It resulted in a more than $90,000 funding loss so far, Minnick officials said. The total budget for the Wise Minnick school this fiscal year was $1.16 million, according to a spokesperson.
“For one school, it’s a significant amount of money,” Webber said. “A loss that great is not something we’re able to sustain as an organization.”
Ray Ratke, CEO of enCircle, which operates the Minnick schools out of Roanoke, said there was lengthy discussion over how much Minnick could absorb and continue to operate. He said they decided to close over nine weeks, the duration of the first marking period, while students find their next placements.
“The pain of this is the impact on the students and families involved,” Ratke said. “Kids are referred to us because they’re not getting their needs fully met. … None of us, after making this decision, feel good about it.”
The Minnick Wise School has served students across the region for 15 years. At the same location, it has an adaptive program for students with more intensive needs that opened in 2018. It will also close.
Minnick schools operate with the intention of returning students to public schools or the next best placement. As a nonprofit, Minnick works with students who are all publicly placed and does not take private pay or insurance.
The staff working at the Wise location declined to comment for this story.
There are no other private day schools or residential schools for students with disabilities in Wise County. Region 7 of the state’s directory for licensed private schools serving students with disabilities includes the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe, as well as the cities of Bristol, Galax, Norton, Radford and the town of Dublin.
Minnick operates locations in Grundy, Wytheville and Bristol and also has schools in Roanoke, Harrisonburg and Lynchburg.
The other day school options in the region are the Morrison School in Bristol and Gateway Private School in Dublin.
Karen Mullins, interim Wise County administrator who serves on the county’s CPM board, wrote in an email that several months ago the board affirmed “paying Minnick only for services actually being rendered to students pursuant to the vendor contract,” which followed the county’s school board attendance policies. She added that the decision was reviewed by the state’s Office of Children’s Services.
Mullins wrote that Wise County’s budget, which had a shortfall of more than $5 million this year before a budget was passed, was not a factor in the CPM board decision.
Glenda Collins, chair of both Wise and Lee County CPM boards, wrote in an email that Lee County’s CPM had “no role in Minnick’s decision” because Minnick chose not to enter into a new contract with them this fiscal year.
She wrote that the Wise CPM board currently has a two-year contract with Minnick, and has not received official word that it will close.
“That agreement specifies the number of student absences for which payment may be made. Minnick submitted invoices for students absences that exceeded the contractual limit, and the [CPM] Board is unable to authorize payment for costs that are not permitted under the terms of the agreement,” Collins wrote, adding later, “Wise [County’s] concern was for services actually being provided to our children referred to Minnick.”
Collins added that the only revision to prior contracts was adding a specific number of reimbursable absence days, which Minnick exceeded.
She wrote that Minnick did not involve the CPM board in its discussions regarding the potential closing of the Wise school. Minnick officials said they asked John McCaroll, also listed under the Wise CPM board, to renegotiate the contract multiple times and expected that he communicated the potential closing to the board. McCarroll could not immediately be reached for comment.
“We recognize the impact this decision may have on the students and families served and remain committed to working with our community partners to ensure that appropriate educational services continue to be available for the children who need them,” Collins wrote.
Wise County Superintendent Mike Goforth said he was recently informed by Webber that the Minnick school would close, and he heard it had to do with the absentee funding challenges. Goforth said students with high needs that were previously sent to Minnick School could now attend the county’s public schools and receive support.
“We didn’t anticipate this, but in education you have to be flexible. We have made adjustments and hired additional staff to take on those students,” Goforth said, adding that the type of classroom used will depend on a student’s needs.
Webber said there was a lengthy back and forth with the CPM boards toward the end of last school year. She said the bodies stood by the decision after Minnick officials suggested a renegotiation of the contracts they signed.
Minnick officials said they were not given a reason for the change in policy.
Webber said the decision not to fund absent days is at odds with the population Minnick serves.
“Part of the reason they’re referred to us by their school division is their difficulty of getting to school on a regular basis,” she said. “Our job is to get them back to participating in school … [it’s] counterproductive for us to not get paid for those days.”
Students with significant physical and mental disabilities, especially in this part of the state, sometimes require full days of travel to get to medical appointments, she added. Not being reimbursed for an absent child directly equals a pay cut, while costs to operate remain the same, Webber said.
Ashley Wittl-Osborne, director of education for the Minnick Schools, said students who cannot transition back to public schools will be left with limited options, like home services or residential placement outside their communities that might require payment.
Minnick officials said all staff working at the Wise location, which includes one teacher and four assistant teachers, were offered the opportunity to apply for open positions across Minnick Schools.
