A specialist school for autistic children would be set up by Solihull Council as part of plans to improve support for those living with the condition.
A recent Ofsted inspection, centred on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), highlighted the lack of suitable provision for borough youngsters with autism.
In addition, the costs of having to send scores of pupils to schools in neighbouring authorities are significant, with a warning this week that failing to improve the situation would leave "a massive hole" in the budget.
A report presented to councillors revealed that the annual bill for 82 children was more than £4 million (£3.3 million for school placements and a further £722,200 to cover the transport costs).
In an attempt to bolster services within Solihull, officers are working on a bid to the Department for Education (DfE) to set up a free school. A previous application was unsuccessful, but the council is now trying again.
It is envisaged this would cater for between 80 to 100 pupils, of junior and secondary school age.
Cllr Ken Meeson, cabinet member for children, education and skills, said that councils around the country were having to deal with the strain on their budgets, with increasing calls for more support from the Government.
"[Current costs] are a big chunk of the budget. So it's no wonder that the high-needs block is overspent.
"It's not new, there have been budget pressures around special educational needs for as long as I can remember.
"One of the other pressures we have is capacity. Our special schools, our units, are full ... One of the reasons that we're having to send some of these young people out of the borough is because we've run out of spaces locally."
His cabinet colleague, Cllr Karen Grinsell, who is responsible for adult social care and health, stressed the importance of getting input from local families
"They've been through it, they know the pitfalls," she said.
Dr John Davenport, from the Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said there were some "very positive" proposals.
"[The issue] is not going to go away.
"Parents are very keen, and rightly so, to make a diagnosis of autism and I think prevalence is going to increase all the time."
Chris Warne, from Healthwatch Solihull, an independent consumer champion, said the school proposal sounded "very exciting".
"I know the cost implications could be a driver and I know it's very appealing to council officers and councillors.
"But I do hope the argument that better value and also better outcomes for pupils will take precedence once the budget savings have cleared the headlines."
The autism strategy also includes plans for a centre of excellence, to help improve employment rates, and work to bolster the provision within mainstream schools.
Presenting an update on the progress being made, project manager Zubair Afzal said the number of residents needing support was going to continue to rise and there was "a sense of urgency" about dealing with the issue.
"It's not going to slow down, these figures are going to increase," he said.
"The medium to long-term outcomes for someone with autism, the research shows, are quite poor actually. All the way through to employment and beyond.
"If we don't do this there is going to be no improvement in the life chances of people with autism."
