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Banning Unified community urges board to address special‑education caseloads and SLP hiring
Summary
Teachers, speech‑language pathologists and the teachers’ union told the Banning Unified board that high caseloads, difficulty hiring in‑district SLPs and reliance on remote providers are harming students and creating legal and workload risks; speakers asked the board to codify caseload limits and press district negotiators to act.
At the May 22 meeting of the Banning Unified School District Board of Trustees, several teachers, speech‑language pathologists (SLPs) and union leaders urged the district to prioritize special‑education staffing and contract language in current negotiations.
“Right now at Hemmerling, we have had a substitute teacher for the entire school year in a special education classroom,” said Christy Valdivia, a specialized academic instructor, asking the board to direct negotiators to continue working on realistic solutions for retention, caseloads and inclusion supports. Valdivia called for supports for general‑education teachers who co‑teach in inclusion settings.
Marie Pilgrim, a senior speech‑language pathologist, requested that the district codify the California Education Code caseload stipulations for language, speech and hearing specialists into the BUSD contract, citing a standard of 55 cases (40 for ages 3–5) and saying that current workloads make compliance difficult. Pilgrim said district SLPs generate medical‑billing revenue for the district — “thus far in this school year, we’ve generated $75,000 for the district” — and warned that high workloads threaten both services and billing completion.
“Special education is not optional,” said Judith Johnson, a special‑education professional, who described current caseloads (she said some staff manage 28 students, and others face even higher numbers) as legally and professionally unsustainable and said the board should not accept “flexibility” that increases workloads.
Anthony Garcia, president of the Banning Teachers Association, told trustees the union will not accept the status quo and alleged that qualified SLP candidates were not hired after contract disputes; he said students are receiving services from virtual providers located outside the community rather than in‑person staff.
Superintendent Terrence Davis responded in general terms that the district hears the concerns and must reconcile Ed Code with current operational realities; he said administration will “take those things into consideration.” No formal action was taken on the special‑education demands at the meeting; speakers asked the board to direct district negotiators to pursue solutions that address retention, caseload caps, and inclusion supports.
What happens next: Speakers asked the board to refer matters to district negotiators and to consider codifying caseload expectations into the certificated contract; the board and superintendent said they would continue discussions and provide follow‑up.
Provenance: Public comment and union remarks beginning with Christy Valdivia (SEG 022) through Anthony Garcia’s BTA remarks (SEG 112) and related superintendent comments (SEG 1167–1199).
