Counselors, union press Palm Beach school board to remove disputed certified‑school‑counselor job description

Palm Beach County school counselors and the teachers' union urged the School Board on Tuesday to remove a 2016 "certified school counselor" job description they say has led to excessive non‑counseling duties and fewer direct student services.

The issue drew public testimony from counselors and parents and formal remarks from Gordon Longhofer, president of the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association, who called the job description "improper and likely illegal" and asked the board to remove it immediately.

The matter matters because counselors said the description has enabled administrators to assign duties — including managing 504 plans, leading student study teams and heavy testing logistics — that reduce counselors' time for one‑on‑one and small‑group counseling. Those direct services, counselors and speakers said, affect students' social‑emotional support, attendance and academic outcomes.

"This job description was created without proper channels," Gordon Longhofer said, urging the board to take corrective action. Several counselors gave concrete examples: Laurie Landis described a former student who credited school counseling with turning her life around and said a recent survey asking whether the 2016 description should be eliminated drew 280 counselors in favor; another survey item showed 156 counselors reporting non‑counseling duties as a significant barrier to serving students.

Randy Scheitz, a school counselor with three decades of service, told the board that at his school of about 1,300 students he is the only counselor and that duties such as teaching and serving as the 504 coordinator have crowded out direct counseling. "I am no longer able to offer small‑group counseling, which was an integral part of my comprehensive counseling program," Scheitz said.

Speakers at the podium repeatedly asked the board to ensure counselors are not regularly assigned duties the American School Counselor Association lists as inappropriate, such as managing 504 plans or running student study teams.

The superintendent, Michael Burke, told the board he has reached out to the association to schedule meetings and said he will review materials provided that evening. Board Vice Chair Marsha Andrews asked that the board itself review the job description and suggested adding it as a discussion item at a future meeting if unresolved. Superintendent Burke agreed to meet with the union and to provide information to the board.

No formal policy change or vote was taken at the meeting. The board requested that the superintendent distribute the 2016 job description to members — the chair said the document would be sent by the following morning — and the superintendent said he had scheduled an in‑person meeting with the association to hear concerns. Board members indicated a willingness to pursue further discussion, including bargaining if the union raises the issue there.

The record contains multiple first‑hand accounts from counselors and union leaders describing both the workload impact and student outcomes they said result from reduced counseling time. Those witnesses urged the board to act promptly to resolve whether the 2016 description should remain and, if not, what duties should be reassigned so counselors can provide more direct services.

Board members and the superintendent said they will return to the issue after staff and the union meet and after board members review the job description.

The board clerk recorded no formal motion or vote to remove the description during the meeting; the actions taken were limited to scheduling meetings and circulating the document to board members.