Speakers raise special‑education caseload and service concerns as board considers CESA 9 contract

Parents, teachers and public commenters raised specific concerns about special‑education staffing, missed therapy minutes and heavy caseloads during public comment at the Unified School District of Antigo board meeting. The board later approved a $583,359 contract with CESA 9 (Cooperative Educational Service Agency) for 2025‑26.

Megan Murphy, who reviewed last year’s contract, urged the board to scrutinize the CESA 9 proposal for special‑education services. She said the district previously had seven speech‑language pathologists and now has “1 remaining within the district with only 3 coming from CESA 9 as proposed for next year,” which she said would leave four in total. Murphy quoted state guideline PI 11.249(b) on occupational therapy caseload limits and said actual caseloads in the district likely exceed those limits, “more than likely you’re sitting somewhere between 60 and 70 students on a caseload for an occupational therapist.”

Darcy Wachotko, a resigning special‑education teacher, described classroom coverage failures and cited a student email she read aloud that described feeling “very hopeless in succeeding in my education” because of missing math supports. She said team‑taught classes lacked adults for multiple days, forcing teachers to cover additional students and paperwork; she provided caseload comparisons from neighboring districts and said her caseload was 25 while a coworker’s was 27. Darcy said two years ago the high school had nine special‑education teachers and next year would be down to two.

Board members debated whether the CESA 9 contract would address those concerns. Questions at the meeting asked whether occupational therapy was included in the CESA contract (it was not listed) and whether CESA services would be in‑person or virtual. District staff said CESA 9 services can be funded from multiple sources (including Fund 27 special‑education funding and transfers from Fund 10) and that the administration would attempt to maximize reimbursements; staff also said some positions remained posted for district hiring.

The board approved the CESA 9 contract as presented. Commenters and at least one board member asked for follow‑up: whether the contract’s staffing levels will meet actual caseload needs, whether missed therapy minutes will be recovered, and whether occupational therapy capacity should be added. The administration said it would use available grants and fund transfers where permitted, but that some services could ultimately require general‑fund support if grant funding is exhausted.