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Spooner board approves shared full-time speech pathologist, retains 0.4 FTE locally
Summary
The Spooner Area School District approved hiring a full-time speech-language pathologist on district payroll while sharing 0.6 FTE with a neighboring district and keeping 0.4 FTE at the middle school; the district estimates roughly $22,000 in savings from the interdistrict arrangement.
The Spooner Area School District Board of Education voted to increase its speech-language-pathologist staffing and enter an interdistrict 66-03-style agreement to share a full-time hire with a neighboring district while keeping 0.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) in-house at the middle school.
A district staff member described recruiting a candidate who wanted full-time work and proposed the district employ her full time on its books while allocating 0.6 of her time to Northwood and 0.4 FTE to Spooner Middle School. "It would actually be a savings for both school districts," the staff member said, adding the arrangement would save "almost $22,000." The board voted to approve the FTE increase and the agreement.
Why it matters: the change is intended to restore in-person speech services at the middle school while allowing the district to meet both local student needs and the candidate's preference for full-time employment. The board discussed the mechanics briefly and approved the recommendation on a voice vote.
Board action and next steps: the motion to increase the FTE and authorize the interdistrict allocation carried; the district will move forward with the hire and the shared-service arrangement under the terms presented to the board. If there are scheduling or caseload questions, staff will manage assignments under the approved 0.4/0.6 split.
Additional context: the hiring approval was presented as part of the personnel and staffing section of the meeting. The board subsequently approved two other hires and accepted resignations reported during the same agenda item.
