Parents and staff press Osseo board on counselor cuts, ESP pay and LGBTQIA advisory lesson at public comment

Dozens of parents, staff and district employees used the board's public-comment period March 18 to raise three recurring concerns: reported reductions to elementary school counselors and social workers, district treatment and pay for education support professionals (ESPs), and objections to a district LGBTQIA advisory lesson that several speakers said should be removed.

Dr. Marguerite Ortman, a parent of students at Oakview Elementary, told the board she had learned the school's counselor position was being reduced to 0.6 FTE and that social-work staffing was being cut across the district. "These positions are essential for the mental health and well-being of our students," Ortman said, and she urged the district to maintain full-time counseling in elementary schools. She said the reductions appear tied to compensatory funding and questioned how a recently passed referendum — which she described as "$223,000,000" — and a district holdback figure she gave in the meeting would relate to staff reductions. Ortman also noted…