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HCPSS officials say contract staff are necessary stop-gaps for special education as district works to rebuild positions

Howard County Board of Education and County Council (joint meeting) · February 9, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

HCPSS academic leaders told the joint meeting that contract agencies fill immediate special-education vacancies but create stability and conversion challenges; the district said hiring permanent staff remains more cost-effective for many professional roles.

Howard County Public Schools officials described how contract agencies are used to fill special-education vacancies while the district works to recruit and retain permanent staff.

Jen Webster, chief academic officer, told the joint board-council meeting that contract workers are a stop-gap the district prefers to minimize, noting contractual restrictions can complicate converting agency staff to full-time HCPSS employees. Webster said…

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