Board approves contracts for therapy and nursing services for 2025‑26 school year

The Board approved a slate of contracts to provide services to students with disabilities and complex medical needs for the 2025‑26 school year.

Contracts approved included: authorizing the superintendent to enter agreements with Kenny Rogers Children’s Center for physical and occupational therapy services (modest rate increase); A New Outlook LLC for orientation and mobility and vision services (noted difficulty recruiting certified providers and a $6 per‑unit increase); Krista Weber for consultative services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (consultative model only this year; no rate increase); Craig Home Care (a PHCS company) for individual nursing services for students with nursing needs reimbursed through Medicaid; and Phoenix Home Care and Hospice for an LPN‑level nursing contract for a kindergarten student.

Why it matters: These contracts fund specialized services the district does not staff internally at scale. Administration said it often continues arrangements with students’ existing home‑agency providers to preserve continuity of care. Nursing services provided for individual students were described as Medicaid‑reimbursable.

Formal actions: For each contract the board moved, seconded and approved the recommendation to authorize the superintendent to execute the respective agreements for 2025‑26. No individual vote tallies were recorded in the public transcript; motions were passed by voice vote (all “Aye” in sequence).

Ending: Administration said providers are scarce in some specialized service areas and that the district will continue to monitor service availability while maintaining continuity for students in need.