Superintendent: special‑education vacancies persist; district using contractors for high‑need classrooms

The superintendent told the School Committee on Sept. 8 that the district still faces significant staffing shortages concentrated in special education.

She said the district is “looking at 13 professional staff, 50 program assistant openings,” and that the openings are primarily for related‑service providers such as school psychologists, speech therapists and BCBAs. The administration said it is in a better position than a year ago but continues to receive few applicants for certain specialized roles.

To maintain services for students with intensive needs, the district has contracted with outside providers for two ASD classrooms at the Marsh while in‑process hires are cleared. The superintendent said Constellations (a contracted provider) will supply full staffing for two classrooms by Sept. 22 and will provide professional development for ASD staff.

Committee members asked about timelines and the HR processing pipeline; administrators said fingerprint and background checks are taking longer than the 24–48 hour turnaround the district previously expected, sometimes running as long as a week. The administration said it will continue reporting vacancy numbers and staffing placements and will prioritize hires for one‑to‑one support and classrooms with the most urgent needs.

Ending: The committee asked for ongoing vacancy and placement updates; the administration said it will provide further detail at the October meeting as applicants clear the hiring process.