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Trustees press staff for more review after proposed reductions to home-hospital teacher allocations
Summary
Trustees and staff debated proposed changes to home-hospital teaching allocations after staff proposed a net reduction of two positions; Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Vantress said historical caseloads and zoned-teacher practices justify reassignment but pledged further review and monitoring of physician documentation and caseloads.
Trustees pressed district staff for further review and engagement with teachers after a presentation proposed a net reduction in home-hospital teaching allocations.
The district's presentation recommended converting some services and narrowing dedicated home-hospital positions: staff said there are five current allocations, with one position proposed to be repurposed full time to Piccolo and three dedicated home-hospital positions remaining, producing a net reduction of two positions. Jennifer Vantress, chief academic officer for student development and success, said the district's historical practice was to limit dedicated home-hospital teachers to roughly four to five students each and to rely on zoned teachers to provide services when counts exceeded that number.
"We used to have around 40 students in home hospital, and now we have 27 students in the home hospital program," Vantress said, adding that in past years as many as 31 zoned teachers across the district have provided home-hospital services. She said the district will continue to monitor caseloads, physician documentation for service justification, and use zoned staff to keep students connected to their zone schools.
Trustees and public commenters raised concerns that classroom teachers and existing home-hospital practitioners had a different perception of caseload levels. Trustee Smith said she would support the overall proposal but asked staff to "measure twice" and return with more analysis after public comment and additional input from those doing the work. Trustee Westlake and Trustee Nicolette similarly asked staff to keep communicating with impacted teachers and associations and to use the transfer windows and bumping procedures to minimize disruption.
Trustees also questioned potential changes to compensation and logistics for teachers providing home-hospital instruction. Vantress responded that the district pays mileage and prep time and that the new contract language addresses compensation for home-hospital services.
Staff said they will continue to monitor student counts and will adjust staffing if caseloads rise; trustees asked staff to return with follow-up analysis before final implementation of any reductions.
