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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 at least three social work positions to place six additional schools on a full‑time model.
Joanna Schenck, introduced as a lead psychologist in Richland Two and a parent, said the recommended ratio is roughly one school psychologist per 500 students and the district is “well over double that ratio” with multiple vacancies and five working retirees still filling roles. Schenck asked trustees to consider clerical support to reduce non‑clinical tasks and financial incentives to improve recruitment and retention.
Morgan Israel Batiste, a district speech‑language pathologist, urged pay parity or a separate salary schedule for SLPs. Batiste said SLPs complete a minimum master’s degree, more than 400 clinical hours, state license renewal and national clinical certification; she asked the district to align SLP compensation with other allied‑health district professionals (occupational and physical therapists and psychologists) to improve recruitment and retention.
Multilingual Program Specialist Dr. Anna Parrish returned to thank the board for prior funding to reduce caseloads and to report positive reading and writing outcomes among her small kindergarten cohort after case‑load redistribution; she asked the board to sustain funding for multilingual staffing.
What the board heard and next steps Speakers asked trustees to prioritize recurring budget support for mental‑health staffing, preserve comprehensive psychological services, and create targeted recruitment incentives and clerical support to free clinical staff for direct services. No formal staffing changes were voted at the meeting; comments were recorded for budget planning.
Ending: District leaders will consider public input as they finalize the 2025–26 budget; speakers asked for concrete personnel additions and compensation changes in the district proposal.
