Administration proposes higher pay scale for speech pathologists and school psychologists to address staffing shortages

Montgomery County Public Schools administrators told the board they are proposing a revised pay scale for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and school psychologists to address persistent vacancies and high district costs for contracted services.

What administration presented Dr. Amanda Widener (Human Resources context introduced earlier) and the Human Resources team explained SLPs and school psychologists require specialized advanced degrees and clinical training that reduce the available candidate pool. The division currently has eight SLP positions (four were vacant at the start of the year; two remain unfilled) and five school psychologist positions (one expected open next year). Administrators said they had few applicants on current openings.

Budget context and contracting costs The division has contracted out SLP services; administrators reported $453,898 in contracted SLP services through mid-April. Administrators said surrounding jurisdictions have added stipends and higher starting pay that make them more competitive in recruiting.

Proposed change HR proposed a dedicated pay scale for SLPs and school psychologists with a starting salary of $65,000 and a top step around $90,250 to be competitive with neighboring divisions and reduce reliance on contractors.

Board response and follow-up Board members generally supported the idea at the conceptual level. Several asked for comparable data for occupational and physical therapists and asked the administration to provide details on how a scale change would affect recruitment and the operating budget. Administrators said they would return with more detailed budget impacts and recommended next steps for advertising and hiring. The board tabled a broader staffing update later in the session to allow more time for review.

Speakers quoted or cited Dr. Amanda Widener, Director of Human Resources (presented staffing context and the rationale for a scale change)

Authorities referenced - other: Comparative salary and stipend data from neighboring school divisions (presented by HR in summary form)

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Discussion vs. decision - Discussion: HR presented vacancy counts, contractor costs and a proposed pay-scale increase to attract candidates. - Direction: Board asked HR to provide detailed budget impacts and comparable data for related positions (OT/PT) and to return with a formal proposal. - Formal action: No vote to change scales; a staffing update motion was tabled later in the meeting.

Clarifying details [{"category":"vacancies","detail":"Speech-language pathologist vacancies at start of year","value":4,"units":"positions","source_speaker":"Dr. Amanda Widener"},{"category":"vacancies_remaining","detail":"SLP positions still vacant later in year","value":2,"units":"positions","source_speaker":"Dr. Amanda Widener"},{"category":"contracted_services_cost","detail":"Amount spent on contracted SLP services through mid-April","value":453898,"units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Dr. Amanda Widener"},{"category":"proposed_pay_scale","detail":"Proposed starting and top pay for SLPs and school psychologists","value":"$65,000 to $90,250","source_speaker":"Dr. Amanda Widener"}]

proper_names:[{"name":"Montgomery County Public Schools","type":"agency"}],

searchable_tags:["staffing","speech-language-pathology","school-psychology","pay-scale"],

provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"14219.91","local_start":0,"local_end":240,"evidence_excerpt":"Chair Hudson, board members, Doctor. Bridal, I'm here to present a, proposal that we make an adjustment in our pay plan for the pay scales for the positions of, our speech language pathologists as well as our school psychologists...","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"14574.555","local_start":0,"local_end":240,"evidence_excerpt":"So our Special Education Department has worked through the RFP process... we spent $453,898 on contracted services just for speech language pathologists.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]},

salience:{"overall":0.66,"overall_justification":"High operational importance due to vacancies, large contractor costs, and direct impact on provision of special education services.","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Impacts service delivery across district special-education programs.