Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Richland Two parents and staff press board for more social workers, psychologists, multilingual staff and higher pay for specialists
Summary
Several school employees and parents urged the board to use the 2025–26 budget to add school social workers, preserve psychologist services, continue multilingual program hires and improve compensation for speech‑language pathologists and assistants covering classes.
Multiple speakers at the March 25 public input session urged trustees to expand student support staffing and fix pay and recruitment gaps for specialized educators.
Abby Cobb, the district coordinator of social work, told the board Richland Two employs 23 school social workers and currently averages one social worker per 1,354 students—far above the national recommended ratio of 1:250. Cobb said only five schools have full‑time social work at the middle‑school level and last year the board sustained two social work positions previously funded by COVID relief; she and other speakers asked the board to add…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
