Warren County board approves virtual special-education contract, remediation amendment and Elevate K12 addendum

The Warren County Board of Education voted Dec. 10 to approve three contract actions after discussion of service needs, contractor invoices and staffing shortages.

The board approved a 2024–25 contract with Solent Health to provide a virtual special education teacher and case-management services for an Intensive Curriculum (ECS) classroom at Warren County High School that serves four students with intensive needs. District staff described the virtual teacher as the teacher of record who will write and track IEPs, plan lessons and coordinate with two instructional assistants in the classroom. The contract cost was presented in the meeting as $47,500 (described as $70 per hour up to 32 hours per week). "We want to give them like a consistent person even though it's virtual," the superintendent said, noting the importance of routine for these students.

The board also approved an amendment to the Serve Pro remediation contract after staff reported that remediation services at Warren County Middle School and Warren Early College High School generated a final invoice exceeding the original 'not to exceed' contract amount. The original contract was described in the meeting as 'not to exceed $277,000'; staff said the vendor's invoices for the fiscal year exceeded the initial estimate and that to-date payments had been made, but the transcript contains garbled numeric details and the precise adjusted total was not clearly recorded in the audio. Transcript language recorded: "the final invoice from Serve Pro exceed the amount that was initially specified in the original contract"; the board approved an amendment to reflect the adjusted cost and asked staff to return for a vote.

Finally, the board approved an addendum to extend Elevate K12 services at Warren County Middle School (adding a sixth-grade math section) and at the high school. The addendum was described as costing $45,000 and will be funded through school-based Title I resources. Mr. Marcus Jones told the board Elevate K12 reduces student-to-teacher ratios and provides certified teachers in classes where the district has struggled to recruit permanent staff.

Each contract motion was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote as recorded in the meeting; the audio did not include a roll-call tally of votes or named yes/no vote records. The board removed the financial audit from tonight's agenda because the presenter was double-booked and rescheduled it for January. After approving the personnel report in open session, the board adjourned.

Notes on figures and names: the transcript spelled some vendor names and numbers inconsistently (for example, "soent/soent Health" and a partially garbled invoice total for Serve Pro); the article uses Solent Health and Serve Pro as the clearest renderings of those providers and reports contract amounts only when clearly stated during the meeting.