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Board told vacancies force district to contract special‑education services
Summary
Committee presenters said the district is contracting external providers for special‑education roles when vacancies cannot be filled; board members noted higher costs and discussed benefits and recruitment challenges.
Board members reviewed contracts to provide special‑education services when district positions remain vacant and discussed recruitment and cost issues.
Officials said the district lists many vacant positions on its website but cannot find qualified candidates; when positions remain unfilled the district hires contract providers for services such as visually impaired instruction, interpreters, speech teachers and specialized nursing. "Most of these positions are listed on our website. We just can't find people to take these jobs, so we have to contract them out, which does cost us more money," a board member said.
Staff noted contract employees do not receive district benefits and that raising pay for district hires could create pay-compression or equity questions among existing employees. Board members emphasized many of the positions are federally or state mandated and therefore necessary regardless of local staffing challenges.
The committee presented the contracts for board approval; the board approved the contracts 9‑0.
Staff said they will continue to advertise open positions and, where possible, cut contracts when permanent hires are made.
