Board approves hire workaround to cover special-education instruction after no certified applicants

The Richland 44 School Board approved, as part of the consent agenda, a contract arrangement to address an unfilled elementary special-education position after staff reported there were no certified applicants.

A staff member described the vacancy and the district's outreach to South Valley special-education directors for options. "With how we've had that posted and what we know we've had no zero applicants," the staff member said, explaining the difficulty hiring certified special-education teachers statewide. The recommended workaround is to place a certified teacher on site to provide students' instructional minutes while contracting an external case manager to perform case management duties, paperwork and IEP coordination.

The staff member said the district solicited candidates who had previously applied to related positions and identified several prospects. One candidate, described as a recent graduate named Stacia from Concordia, will provide instruction; the district plans to contract with an experienced case manager already handling high-school caseloads to cover the paperwork and IEP leadership. The staff member said this solution "costs a little bit more in some ways" but that offering the on-site instruction and contracted case management together makes the placement feasible.

Board members were told that the consent agenda already included the contract approval for the elementary teacher placement. The staff member said the on-site teacher will not lead case management duties (IEP meetings and paperwork) but will work closely with the contracted case manager and district special-education team.

The board did not debate the contract further at the meeting; staff indicated they would proceed with hiring the identified candidates and coordinating the contracted case management to ensure students receive required minutes and services.