Adelanto school board hears special-education staffing report as public mounts defense of superintendent

Dr. Best, who presented the district's special-education staffing overview, told the board the district has used the vendor EPIC since 2017 to provide virtual speech-language pathologists and psychologists because such specialists are hard to recruit. She said the district serves 658 students with speech and language impairments across 14 schools and must respect a mandated caseload cap for SLPs of about 55. "If we do not honor [IEP timelines] we are in violation, and that leads to litigation," Dr. Best said.

Dr. Best said the district previously requested $1 million for EPIC but increased the request to $1.5 million to cover rising costs; she also reported the special-education team billed more than $221,000 in one month to Medi-Cal, with reimbursement arriving on a two-year lag. She told trustees EPIC's contract ended Dec. 19 and that the district needs additional psychologists and coordinators to meet demand and comply with state and federal timelines.

Trustees asked how many psychologist positions are funded and whether the board needed to give direction to post vacancies. Dr. Best said seven psychologist positions are approved and the department requests three additional postings; Dr. Walker and staff explained HR can post positions on EdJoin and that the board's consensus would allow SPED to proceed. Trustee Krause suggested the district prioritize an internal hiring pipeline.

After the presentation, the meeting shifted to an extended public-comment period focused on item 4.6, which the agenda listed as dismissal/release of the superintendent. Dozens of speakers filled the podium and the Zoom queue. ADTA interim president Brian Hahn criticized the district's reliance on outsourced tutoring and urged that in-house teachers be given first opportunity for after-school programs. Multiple classroom teachers, parents and former trustees argued that removing Superintendent Dr. Walker would destabilize ongoing reforms and harm students.

"We will not get a better superintendent," Kimberly Smith, a fifth-grade teacher, told the board, saying turnover had cost the district continuity. Several speakers described Dr. Walker's work to improve attendance and test scores and urged the board to prioritize stability. Speakers representing CSEA and individual school psychologists warned about systemic risk if SPED staffing and timelines are not sustained; a district school psychologist outlined the lengthy assessments and legal procedures that undergird IEP decisions.

President So to said the board would recess to closed session. After returning to open session, the board announced a reportable closed-session action: it approved the administrative panel's recommendation to suspend enforcement of an expulsion for case number 2025-2026-17 (ID 330802), allowing the student to return on probation with contingencies including participation in HOPE Scholars or alternative education, individual and family counseling, satisfactory grades and attendance, and a required meeting with the director of student services after June 2026 to show proof of completion. The board reported the votes were 5-0.

Several consent-agenda items drew separate debate. Trustees pulled contracts for after-school tutoring and related services and questioned whether Title I funds should pay outside vendors for fingerprinting that the district said it needs to run so it receives Department of Justice updates directly for vendors operating on district sites. Administration's explanation was that some outside agencies receive DOJ reports for their own hires and may not forward later updates to the district; having the district run its own Live Scan confirms the HR office receives updates directly.

The meeting stretched late into the night, during which trustees discussed policy introductions, nominations for regional offices, and governance oversight. Dr. Walker closed with a summary of district progress and a call for continued work: "Big, bold, and brave together," she said. The board held additional votes on consent items and policy introductions before adjourning after extended hours.

Next steps: the district will proceed with HR posting for the additional psychologist positions as discussed; the board retains procedural authority over any future personnel action regarding the superintendent that would be reported on a subsequent agenda.