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Committee forwards Best Buddies middle-school proposal to board after presentation
Summary
Committee members heard a presentation on launching a Best Buddies middle-school chapter modeled on the district high-school program, discussed training and advisor stipends, and voted to send the proposal to the full board for approval; specific budget figures were not provided at the committee meeting.
Jerry, introduced by the chair to present a proposal for a Best Buddies middle-school chapter, described the program’s structure and reported that the high-school chapter has grown over three years and changed the school’s culture. He said the middle-school chapter would pair students with intellectual disabilities and regular-education peers through an application and advisor-pairing process and would meet during advisory or similar contact time, with weekly activities and occasional outings.
Jerry said training for peer advisers would typically be a brief after‑school series (about three to four sessions) at the start of the school year and that school counselors and special-education teachers would help with pairing and oversight. A staff member noted Best Buddies is an international program in operation for about 30 years and said districts that adopt it often see improved student outcomes and culture.
Committee members asked about budget and staffing. The meeting record cites that advisor stipends are used at the high school and that a stipend for chapter advisers is expected; one speaker said advisor stipends in comparable roles start at about 2.5% of base teacher salary and can go up to 5%, but no exact dollar request for the middle-school chapter was specified in the committee discussion. The committee agreed the application and training process would occur at the beginning of the academic year and estimated roughly 15 middle-school students with intellectual disabilities might be eligible to participate.
A committee member moved to forward the Best Buddies proposal to the full board for consideration; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The committee record notes the proposal advances to the board with budget details to be provided at that stage. The committee did not adopt final budget or staffing decisions; those will be resolved by the board.
The next procedural step: the Best Buddies middle-school proposal will be placed on the full board agenda for review and final approval, with staff to supply stipend and budget figures.
