When parents of special-education students learned about Superintendent Patrick Murphy's proposal to cut a program for autistic students, they jumped into action. They organized a press conference and began lobbying School Board members to save the program, which allows middle and high school students with autism to learn in regular education classrooms. They wrote emails and spoke out at public hearings. In the end, they were successful. When School Board members gathered to adopt their operating budget last week, Emma Violand-Sanchez offered a motion to restore $271,000 to fund seven positions.

"The program is credited with assisting students to succeed in mainstream classrooms," said Violand-Sanchez before offering the motion. "The School Board recognizes the program's benefit for students and is committed to supporting it."

Parents who fought to have the funding restored said they were relieved that School Board members took action. But they also sounded a note of caution. Violand-Sanchez's motion was for one-time funding, which means that parents might find themselves in the same situation again next year. Meanwhile, school officials are preparing an evaluation of the program to determine the future of the program, which funds classroom assistants who help autistic students learn social skills.

"We are sobered, I'd say, by the reality that the funds to restore the assistant positions and maintain the ratio in the program is one-time funds," said Gordon Whitman, father of a seventh grader at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. "We are also sobered by a sense that we feel and other special-education parents feel questions about where the district is headed on special education."

RECENT YEARS have seen a spike in the number of children diagnosed with autism, a spectrum of brain disorders that create difficulties in social interaction and communication skills. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism affects nearly one out of every 110 children. That's more children diagnosed with autism than with diabetes, cancer and AIDS combined. School officials say this year's budget imbroglio is an opportunity to take a look at how the program works and what its future is at Arlington Public Schools.

"Parents advocating for their kids is what we like to see," said School Board member Noah Simon. "I think this allows us to take a step back by directing the superintendent to work with the community and the appropriate advisory committees, and I think it's a good compromise."

Critics said the superintendent's proposal showed an insensitivity to autism specifically and special education in general. At times, the debate became personal.

"If I were a parent with an autistic kid in the school system, you wouldn't be talking to me," Jim Hurysz told School Board members. "You would be talking to a legal team that I would hire about the stunt you pulled."

THE $540 MILLION budget approved by Arlington School Board members represents a 3 percent increase over last year's budget, including a county transfer of $432 million. The spending plan maintains Arlington's position as the district with the highest cost per pupil in region — $18,678. The discussion about funding the autism program comes at a time when county spending has created controversies about everything from the aquatics center to a proposed streetcar line on Columbia Pike.

"The only thing everyone seemed to agree on is that we should ask the county for more money," said Moyra Forbes, chairwoman of the budget advisory committee. "But that has just allowed us to avoid having an honest conversation about trade-offs."

Some parents say the budget approved by School Board members does not address "bread and butter" issues such as reading and writing. The most recent standardized testing results show that 20 percent of the county's schoolchildren failed the English performance test. That's a cause for concern among many parents, some of whom are calling for increased spending on teacher training.

"There's really nothing in the budget addressing those concerns," said Yvonne McIntire, a co-chair of the English Language Advisory Committee. "That seems like the iceberg under the tip."