Spending More, Serving Less: The High Cost of Private Equity in Special Education

The report finds that WCCUSD's spending on outside vendors more than doubled between 2019 and 2025, with over $14 million spent on three private equity-owned firms in the 2024-2025 school year alone. This shift has resulted in higher costs for taxpayers and reduced student support, including a loss of 40 hours of service per student with a disability compared to in-house staffing. The document highlights the role of firms like Leonard Green & Partners and Vistria Group, noting a pattern of labor violations and a preference for virtual services over in-person care.

• WCCUSD spending on outside contractors and vendors increased from $59 million in the 2019-2020 school year to $117 million in 2024-2025, rising from 16% to 23% of overall district spending.
• In the 2024-2025 school year, WCCUSD spent over $14 million on three private equity-owned contractors: The Stepping Stones Group (owned by Leonard Green & Partners), ProCare, and Sunbelt Staffing (both owned by Vistria Group).
• Insourcing the work provided by these three private equity contractors in 2024-2025 would have saved the district nearly $6 million and allowed for the hiring of 238 permanent employees. This transition would have provided students with an additional 153,841 total hours of support, averaging 40 more hours per student with a disability.
• The use of outside contractors has negatively impacted the quality of care, with some critical services moved online and a lack of stability due to workers being hired from outside the Bay Area.
• The private equity firms and their subsidiaries have a history of legal issues, including a $4.25 million settlement by Stepping Stones Group for wage and hour violations in 2024 and a $2.5 million settlement by New Direction Solutions for similar violations in California.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2025). Spending More, Serving Less: The High Cost of Private Equity in Special Education. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PESA_Report_Education_WCCUSD_Report_Nov_2025.pdf

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Spending More, Serving Less: The High Cost of Private Equity in Special Education. 2025. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PESA_Report_Education_WCCUSD_Report_Nov_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=Spending More, Serving Less: The High Cost of Private Equity in Special Education |date=November 2025 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PESA_Report_Education_WCCUSD_Report_Nov_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2025spending, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{Spending More, Serving Less: The High Cost of Private Equity in Special Education}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PESA_Report_Education_WCCUSD_Report_Nov_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }