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Kenai Peninsula district cites growing special‑education caseloads, costly contracting and recruitment gaps
Summary
Denise Kelly, director of student support services for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, told the House Education Committee the district has dozens of vacancies, has contracted for related services and is exploring international hires to fill classroom and therapy positions.
Denise Kelly, director of student support services for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, told the House Education Committee on April 7 that her geographically large district serves 8,445 students and that roughly 18% receive special education services this year; she said 216 students qualified for intensive‑needs funding.
Kelly said the district began the year with six open special education teaching positions and that it had contracted through third‑party agencies for related service providers such as occupational therapists and speech‑language pathologists. She said the district had 18 posted vacancies for related‑service providers and planned to rely on contracted providers again, noting the higher cost of agency contractors compared with district employees.
Kelly told committee members the district is considering international hires for the coming school year and said the travel‑therapy lifestyle offered by some contractors makes those roles difficult to fill as permanent district positions. She said caseloads have increased over the past five years — a 15% increase in students eligible for special education and a 6% increase in those eligible for intensive needs funding — and that expanding caseload complexity reduces the time teachers can spend on direct instruction versus IEP paperwork.
On LRE (least‑restrictive environment), Kelly said most students with disabilities receive services in general education classrooms with supports, but that insufficient staffing limits the district’s ability to add paraprofessionals and other supports that help students remain in general education settings.
Kelly urged lawmakers to consider adequate funding to recruit and retain qualified staff, noting that contracting with agencies raises district costs and that teacher paperwork obligations are time‑consuming and legally binding. She said the district will provide additional questions and follow‑up to the committee as requested.
