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Board presses administration over counselor, psychologist and special‑education cuts
Summary
Board members probed how proposed reductions — including position closures and vacancy-driven cost avoidance — would affect counseling, psychology and diverse‑learner casework; administration said case‑load analyses, RIF timelines and contractual constraints will guide final decisions.
Board members asked detailed questions about staffing lines that administration flagged as potential savings, focusing on counselors, psychologists, safety officers and diverse‑learner specialists. Administration distinguished between ‘‘cost avoidance’’ (closing vacant positions that were not included in the prior budget baseline) and actual reductions (eliminating filled positions), and provided sample figures for counselors and safety officers to illustrate the methodology.
Several board members cautioned that reducing case‑management or paraprofessional roles could lead to service gaps for students with IEPs, and requested clearer case‑load analysis and assurances that legal compliance (IEP timelines) would be preserved. Administration said it is evaluating contractual timelines, collective‑bargaining implications and opportunities to reallocate staff or use contracted services to maintain required services; staff committed to follow‑up analyses and to provide an organizational chart and more granular impacts on case loads.
