District proposes hiring four full‑time school psychologists after LADSI turnover hampered services

Lyons Twp HSD 204 staff proposed directly hiring four full‑time school psychologists for the 2025–26 school year to expand continuity and broaden psychologists’ roles beyond special‑education testing.

Doctor Owens presented the proposal and outlined the district’s history of contracting psychologists through the LADSI cooperative, saying turnover in the cooperative limited sustained services at the high school. “We have traditionally had three full time psychologists here at LT, which is under the recommended ratio. The National Association of School Psychs recommends a 1 psychologist to every 500 student ratio,” Owens said, and noted LADSI had been unable to fill requested positions in recent years.

Owens said hiring four district‑employed psychologists would let the district round out student support teams, provide expertise across MTSS tiers, conduct evaluations, support 504 plans, and deploy more targeted interventions. She described the current cooperative arrangement as narrowing psychologists’ scope largely to special‑education testing and compliance and said the proposed direct hires would allow those professionals to serve more broadly.

Board members asked whether the district is an outlier for using a cooperative at the high‑school level; staff said the district is one of only two high schools in the region still relying on a cooperative for full‑time psychologists. Members also asked about pension and salary differentials; staff said LADSI psychologists are part of TRS and that pay differentials and turnover are factors driving the proposal.

The proposal includes bringing a formal recommendation back to the board for action on March 17. Staff said hiring four district psychologists would still fall short of the 1:500 guideline for the district’s enrollment but would support a grade‑level model and provide continuity the district currently lacks.