Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board questions CESA/CISA costs for vision and audiology services for IEP students
Summary
Board members pressed district staff for a clearer breakdown of about $52,300 in payments this year to Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CISA/CESA) 6 for vision and audiology support used for low‑incidence IEP students and asked whether the district has alternatives.
A Winneconne Community School District board member pressed district staff for a clearer accounting of payments to Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CISA/CESA 6) for vision and audiology services used by students with individualized education programs (IEPs).
During an agenda item on vision and audiology services, the board member said the district has already paid “$52,300” to CESA/CISA this year and listed individual figures: “January 2026, $18,800; February $12,002.70; March $6,002.15;” and noted a current month payment of about $15,000. The member asked whether those fluctuations reflect different testing cycles or clumped charges and requested a clearer breakdown of CESA/CISA charges.
A district staff member who works with the itinerant service providers said the district contracts with CESA/CISA 6 because the staff they provide—licensed audiologists and teachers for students who are deaf or have vision impairments—are state‑licensed specialists the district does not employ in‑house. “We utilize CISA just because, like other districts in the area, they need somebody very, in a very minor capacity, but we still are required to give those services to the students,” the staff member said.
The staff member explained that other community partners referenced in discussion—School Nurses of Oshkosh and the Lions Club—provide screenings or vision checks for the broader student population but do not supply the state‑licensed services required for IEPs (for example, audiologists who maintain specialized equipment or teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing). The staff member said some community volunteers come through public‑health rotations and community service and are coordinated under staff oversight, but those supports are separate from the licensed services CESA/CISA supplies.
When asked whether CESA/CISA is the district’s only practical option for the niche, low‑incidence services, the staff member said yes, explaining that the district lacks sufficient enrollment to employ on‑site specialists for those areas.
The board member’s request for clarity led staff to offer to ask CESA/CISA for a more detailed billing breakdown showing which center or department generated each charge. The board member said that additional nomenclature on invoices would help reconcile the district’s check records with the district’s internal itinerant service reports.
The board did not take further action at the meeting; staff committed to follow up with a clearer invoice breakdown from CESA/CISA to explain the month‑to‑month variation.
