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Waterford Board reviews plan to issue RFP for contracted special-education substitute services
Summary
Board discussed issuing a three-year request for proposals to secure hourly contracted substitutes for hard-to-fill special-education positions to ensure IEP compliance; staff emphasized the contracting is to cover vacancies or leaves, not replace Waterford Education Association members.
The Waterford School District Board of Education considered an information item to release a request for proposals for contracted special-education substitute services intended to secure hourly pricing for the next three years.
District staff said the RFP would seek competitive bids with per-hour pricing for a rotation of firms that could fill short-term vacancies or cover leaves of absence for specialized roles required by students' individualized education programs, or IEPs. Staff described the measure as intended to manage budget exposure and ensure the district can meet legally required services when certified WEA (Waterford Education Association) members are unavailable.
The presenter said the RFP targets a set of recurring, hard-to-fill specialties and that the district expects hourly bids for each of the five positions it most frequently needs. The district emphasized that contracted staff would be used on a substitute basis during leaves or vacancies and not as a replacement for WEA members.
Board members asked how continuity for students would be preserved when substitutes are used. Staff said, when possible, the district would secure the same contracted staff member for a leave to maintain continuity. For short-term gaps of a day or two, staff said internal substitutes or caseload reassignments might be used. Staff also said the district uses Oakland Schools' cooperative agreements (including AnthroMed) but that the RFP is intended to cast a wider net to fill specialties not covered by existing cooperatives.
The item was presented as an information item; no formal board vote to adopt a contract was recorded in the transcript.
