Board approves extra EEC teaching assistant and short-term braille contractor

At the July 21 meeting the Round Lake Area Board of Education approved two special-education staffing items: a 1.0 full-time teaching assistant position for an instructional classroom at the Early Education Center (EEC) and a summer independent-contractor agreement for braille and assistive-technology services. District staff told the board the EEC's instructional classroom went over capacity in recent months. Staff reconfigured space in the center of the EEC by relocating a set of offices to create an additional classroom and requested one full-time teaching assistant to staff that classroom. The position will be funded through the federal IDEA grant with an estimated annual cost of $56,339. Administration explained that, to avoid additional classrooms, some other district instructional special-education classes will be allowed to increase their caps from previously lower levels up to 10 students with supplemental supports when necessary; administrators said the cap change would be used only as needed and that typical class sizes remain as small as possible. Separately, the board approved a short-term independent-contractor agreement with Ahmad Michel to provide braille and assistive-technology instruction through Aug. 8 to cover summer needs; the contract amount will not exceed $3,300 and will be charged to special-education funds. District staff said that after Aug. 8 the student's services will shift to an existing Sedol contract that provides the remaining school-year services. The motions passed by roll call: the independent-contractor agreement (motion by Mr. Jones, second by Ms. Klingler) and the addition of the 1.0 FTE teaching assistant (motion by Ms. Stewart, second by Ms. Larson).