Committee examines School for the Deaf and School for the Blind requests for staff, campus repairs and program funds

Lawmakers reviewed the budgets for the School for the Deaf and the School for the Blind, focusing on salary adjustments, operating inflation and several one-time campus requests.

Representative Rob Richter, who led the item, said salary increases reflect the schools' use of a localized salary scale and a relatively experienced workforce. "They have a very experienced staff," Richter said, noting teachers often hold master's degrees and local salary-scale placements produced larger percentage increases at the top of the scale.

The School for the Deaf asked the committee for a mix of ongoing and one-time funding. Ongoing requests included two partial- and full-time classified positions to support early-childhood and dormitory staffing; one of the requests was a 0.75 FTE for early-childhood paraprofessional work and another roughly 0.75 FTE described as a counselor/dormitory overnight position. One-time requests discussed in testimony included approximately $238,000 to replace campus security cameras, $45,000 for kitchen appliances and cabinetry in a remodeled kitchen, and program asks for a School for the Deaf online academy ($70,000) and staff professional development ($10,000).

Committee members also noted the agency reported two teacher positions had been vacant for more than 18 months and that the vacancies represented about $322,000 in salary savings in the prior fiscal year. "They're almost they're over 18 months now," Richter said, and he asked staff to check whether removing the vacant positions would cause operational difficulties before making a final decision.

The School for the Blind budget review covered similar categories: salary adjustments, inflationary operating increases and campus repairs. Committee members discussed a small parking-lot repair need at the Blind school in Grand Forks; the school reported the lot was in poor condition and the agency listed a parking-lot repair request in its materials. The committee asked staff to check carryover authority and previous capital allocations before acting on those projects.

Representative Hansen asked whether an assistive-technology FTE was requested; the committee asked Richter to follow up with the schools for confirmation on several staffing items.

Why it matters: the two specialized state schools provide residential and statewide services for students with sensory disabilities; their budgets include both direct education staff and campus facility maintenance that affects program continuity.

What the committee will do next: staff were directed to confirm vacancy impacts before removing long-vacant positions, gather more detail on braille and other outreach training contracts, and include the schools' additional requests on long sheets for later consideration.