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Board okays additional Spanish translation vendor as district immigration‑language needs rise
Summary
Facing a roughly 50% increase in families whose primary home language is not English, the board approved a non‑exclusive contract with a local translation vendor to supplement existing Spanish translation capacity while the district evaluates adding an ELL teacher next school year.
The board approved a contract to add an additional translation vendor to support Spanish and other limited language needs after district staff reported a roughly 50% increase in families speaking a language other than English at home.
Staff said the district currently relies on a small ELL team — a director/coordinator, one teacher and one paraprofessional — and that existing bilingual staff cannot keep up with demand. The contract added Keywords Translation Services (presented during the meeting as a locally based vendor) as a non‑exclusive resource the district can call for Spanish translation; staff said other vendors remain available for other languages.
When asked whether the contract is exclusive, staff confirmed it is not and said the vendor is one of several options; staff also said the district expects to post and likely hire another ELL teacher for the next school year while using contracted services for the current year.
The board approved the contract by voice vote.
