For families of Mason City Schools students with Individualized Education Programs, the district's promise is straightforward: your child gets the services their plan requires, regardless of what the state pays back. The cost of keeping that promise was roughly $3 million out of local pockets.
Mason City Schools applied for nearly $4 million in state reimbursement through Ohio's Threshold Cost Reimbursement program for students whose educational plans require the highest levels of support, according to a district statement published July 10. The state returned approximately $989,000. The district covered the remaining $3 million with local funds to keep services in place.
The district's statement did not specify which school year the figures cover. Based on the state program's application window of March 2 through April 30, 2026, the costs most likely reflect the 2024–2025 school year.
How the state program works
Ohio Revised Code 3317.0214 allows districts to seek reimbursement when the cost of educating a student in special education categories two through six exceeds a set threshold. Those categories range from specific learning disabilities to students with multiple disabilities requiring the most intensive services. For the 2024–2025 school year, the threshold was $27,375 per student for categories two through five and $32,850 for category six, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
The program does not guarantee full reimbursement. When total eligible claims statewide exceed available funding, districts receive a fraction of what they applied for.
District policy: serve first, seek dollars after
The district said in its July 10 statement that it does not wait to see what funding may be available before delivering IEP services. Instead, it provides the required support and then pursues recovery through state and federal programs.
Each student's IEP is reviewed annually by an assigned Intervention Specialist, according to the district's special education department. The district has not disclosed how many of its roughly 10,000 students carry IEPs or how many triggered the threshold reimbursement application.
What this means for taxpayers
The $3 million shortfall is absorbed into the district's operating budget, funded by local property taxes and other revenue. The district did not provide its total general fund budget for comparison.
Families with questions about special education services can contact Special Education Supervisor Jody Bergman at [email protected].
The Mason City Schools Board of Education holds its next Regular Session on Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. in the Harvard Room at Mason High School.
