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Simons staff urge Keene board to add full‑time special‑education teacher as caseloads rise
Summary
Simons School staff and parents told the Keene School District board that current special‑education caseloads exceed the board’s 15–22 range and asked for a full‑time third special‑education teacher for 2026–27; administration outlined a short‑term sharing plan and summer monitoring.
Mari Fouth, speaking during public input, asked the Keene School District board to “support hiring a full‑time special education teacher at Simons” for the 2026–2027 school year, saying Simons’ two existing special‑education case managers have been operating at or above the board‑set caseload range of 15 to 22.
Board members and administrators described the issue as both immediate and procedural. Administration staff explained the district’s caseload projection procedure, saying they rely on trimester‑1 projections rather than end‑of‑year numbers and that sustained projections — not one‑time spikes — trigger additional hires. “Trimester 3 is not utilized in procedure because it’s when we’re pretty much projecting for next year,” an administrator said while outlining the projection method the district uses.
Several board members pressed for clarity on whether service‑hour delivery required under individual IEPs was being missed; administration cautioned against labeling the situation “out of compliance” without a student‑by‑student review of service hours. Heather, a board member, said she wanted to “be careful with the word out of compliance” and asked staff to confirm whether IEP services were being missed before using that language.
Simons principal Susan Grover told the board that Simons’ caseloads climbed in February and that school staff have gathered data to document the workload; she said the school “does have data that we can share with you.” Administrators described a short‑term plan to balance workloads at the start of next year by arranging a percentage share of a special‑education position from a school below the range while the district monitors whether the increase is sustained. If the caseload trend remains high, officials said they would follow the established procedure to hire additional staff.
Board members asked the education committee and the administration to continue working together, review the caseload range and procedures, and return to the full board if the summer monitoring indicates the district must add staff before the start of the school year. The board did not take a formal vote on hiring at the full meeting; the administration said hiring authority rests with the superintendent and would follow budget and staffing procedures.
