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Board approves special-education contracts and hears update on hiring paraeducators
Summary
The board approved a group of special-education contracts worth roughly $9.5 million and received updates on recruitment: HR and special-education staff reported faster hiring timelines and summer training to retain paraeducators.
The board approved a package of special-education contracts (items 19 w through PP) covering nonpublic schools, therapy vendors and staffing agencies, which staff characterized as necessary to serve students with specialized needs. The agenda packet lists individual nonpublic-school placements with per‑student costs; staff said the group totals about $1.2 million for certain nonpublic placements and about $9.5 million overall across special‑education contract lines.
Special-education staff described active efforts to reduce reliance on contracted staffing by recruiting and training district paraeducators. "This summer, just since June 17, we've recommended to hire more than 30 people for paraeducator positions," the special-education lead said, adding that the internal hiring pipeline and an incentive plan are intended to improve retention. Staff estimated the special-education portion of their hiring process (screening and interview panels) takes about 3–4 weeks, with HR onboarding variables potentially extending that timeline.
Board members asked about nonpublic-school counts and costs per student; staff walked through the listed items and clarified that many nonpublic placements serve single students and are budgeted annually. The board approved the batch of contracts and asked staff to continue efforts to convert contracted roles to district positions where possible.
