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Teachers, parents urge board to reinstate South Harrison special‑education position; board tables decision
Summary
Teachers, parents and school leaders urged the Harrison County Board of Education to reinstate one special‑education teacher at South Harrison High School, saying current IEP requirements and rising special‑education enrollment cannot be met with proposed cuts; the board voted to table the position pending more information.
Multiple teachers and parents on behalf of South Harrison High School warned the Harrison County Board of Education that eliminating a special‑education teaching position would prevent the school from meeting students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and reduce access to core courses.
Barbie Paul, a special‑education department chair at South Harrison, told the board the school’s special‑education population is increasing even as overall enrollment declines and said current staffing (described in public comment as four and a half special‑education teachers) cannot cover the workload. Paul said the master schedule submitted by the school shows a need for 15 co‑taught classes, seven small special‑education classes and six alternate‑standards classes, and that cutting one teacher would eliminate six required special‑education class blocks.
Dr. Michelle Chasty, a South Harrison math teacher, said the vacancy that has been filled by substitutes was slated to remain unfilled in the coming year and that the staffing gap has already forced the school to remove sections of general‑education courses, including math and career and technical classes. She and other speakers described how splitting a co‑teacher across two classes would double planning and modification work and degrade day‑to‑day support for students with disabilities.
Parent Leah Michael recounted long delays and difficulties obtaining evaluations and consistent implementation of accommodations for her child, saying reduced staffing would turn staffing “into a compliance issue” rather than an instructional priority. Michelle Graham, a foster parent, added that foster children are tied to their assigned district and have no alternative if local supports are reduced.
Board members discussed the concerns and then made a motion to table the South Harrison special‑education position until the board and administration could gather additional information; the motion carried by voice vote. The board’s tabling preserved the position temporarily while staff prepare further documentation on caseloads, schedule options and legal obligations under IDEA and Section 504.
What’s next: Administration will be asked to provide detailed, comparative master‑schedule documents, current IEP minutes and a staffing plan that shows how proposed cuts would affect service minutes and course offerings. The board did not adopt any staffing cuts at the meeting.
Quotes (selected): “Cutting a position at our school will reduce the school's ability to meet those needs with legal and educational obligations,” Barbie Paul said. “When we face our students in the morning, we who speak here tonight will know that we have done our very best to attempt to ensure their services.”
Provenance: topicintro SEG 846; topfinish SEG 2490.
