Bellevue School District officials told the board on July 31 that the district will continue a contract with Sunburst to provide paraeducator staff for special-education needs, a contract the board approved after a short discussion and a request for additional detail.

Scott Powers, executive director of Inclusion and Accessibility, described para staffing levels and the district’s approach: the district reported four para staffing “levels” and that staffing counts fluctuate with student needs. For the 2024–25 year the district reported about 368 paras in its 3–4 classification; the district is targeting about 362 paras for the coming year. Powers said the district reduced reliance on contracted paras over the past four years — dropping from about 120 contracted paras to roughly 30–35 — and described the contractor pool as a source of flexibility for emergency coverage and short-term needs.

Powers told the board the district favors hiring paraeducators as district employees when possible and has used contractors to fill gaps while building internal capacity. He said the contractor (Sunburst) aligns its training with district expectations and that when contractors perform well the district often hires them as direct employees.

Board members asked about monitoring and continuity. Powers said contractor paras work alongside district staff and participate in site-level handoffs so student information and supports travel with the student. Board members asked whether the contract includes contingency for unexpected enrollment of students with IEPs; Powers said the district builds contingency into its projections and retains some contract flexibility to meet those needs.

Director Phil Block and others thanked staff for the explanation. A motion to approve the contract was moved from the floor and passed after discussion.

Provenance: The Sunburst workforce contract was pulled from the consent agenda, discussed under board business, and approved by the board on July 31.