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Lakeland weighs hiring in-house SLPs to reduce expensive contracted services
Summary
Administrators reported two in-district speech-language pathologists (SLPs) were recruited to replace portions of contract services; district leaders said hiring could reduce contract costs but exact savings and net impacts require clearer line-item figures.
Lakeland District administrators discussed plans to hire two in-district speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to reduce reliance on contract providers and to retain experienced clinicians who were being paid more elsewhere.
Kelsey Badger, federal programs director, said the district currently uses multiple contracted SLP vendors that together cost the district its highest monthly contracted-services payment when school is in session. Badger said hiring two in-district SLPs would eliminate four days of contract service and reduce some monthly contract expenditures. “We were able to offer them both and we do have letters with an intent signed,” Badger said, noting one current in-person SLP is moving to another district and one hire would replace that incumbent.
Board members pressed for clearer numbers. Chair Thompson and others asked for a line-by-line comparison showing how many contract days will be eliminated, the monthly contract service cost now, and the net personnel cost after offering in-district salaries and any stipends. Administrators said earlier estimates that appeared to show large savings (figures discussed informally during planning) were inconsistent and that the more defensible estimate of contracted-service reduction tied to the two hires is about $4,000 per month in reduced contract payments — but that the staff would provide a detailed reconciliation.
Administrators also described other reasons to hire in-district SLPs beyond pure monthly cost: in-person services reduce reliance on virtual providers, parents prefer in-person therapy, and some virtual contractor arrangements require a district para on-site anyway.
Ending: The board requested a clear schedule showing current contracted SLP costs, the number of students each SLP serves, and the net budget impact of hiring the two in-district clinicians.
