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Board reviews contracted special-education services; trustees ask for clarity on facilitation and costs
Summary
Staff detailed contracted special-education services provided by Best Life Therapy — including counts of speech, telespeech and OT students and contractor staffing — and clarified the facilitator role and projected vendor costs.
District staff told trustees the district contracts with Best Life Therapy for multiple special-education services and provided counts and staffing details for the fall screening period.
Staff said the district has 71 face-to-face speech students and 52 telespeech students, 86 face-to-face occupational therapy (OT) students, and that screenings conducted between August and November totaled approximately 195, with 49 students failing initial screenings and moving to further evaluation. "We currently have 4 contracted speech therapists," staff said, noting two provide face-to-face services and two provide telespeech.
A board member asked about the facilitator role. Staff described facilitators as the adult in the room who ensures students can access materials and connect while the certified special-education teacher provides virtual instruction: "They supervise... they're the actual adult in the room with students while the certified teacher is coming in virtually." The distinction was emphasized to explain why some services are provided by contracted facilitators rather than district employees.
Trustees pressed staff on costs and vendor projections. Staff clarified that a $2,000,000 figure mentioned was a projection for that company only, not the district's total special-education spend. Board members discussed exploring other vendor options and the possibility of converting some contractors to district employees to control costs and improve continuity of services.
The board did not take immediate action on changing contract arrangements; discussion concluded with staff saying they would continue to evaluate vendor options and report back.
