With mixed feelings, speech therapists in the Morgan Hill
Unified School District learned that the special education
department is contracting with an outside speech therapist to
provide services to 36 district children for $144,000.
Morgan Hill – With mixed feelings, speech therapists in the Morgan Hill Unified School District learned that the special education department is contracting with an outside speech therapist to provide services to 36 district children for $144,000.
The students had been without the speech services required by their Individual Education Plans (IEPs) since the beginning of the school year in August.
School board trustees voted during their Jan. 16 meeting to approve the contract with an outside speech therapist. During the meeting, Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers President Donna Foster told trustees that they could have filled the need with their own speech therapists as there’s a provision in the district’s contract which would allow them to offer speech therapists incentives to fill the need.
Director of Special Education Salli Welsh said Monday that she would rather hire a district employee to fill the position, but that she has had “very few nibbles” of interest from her efforts to spread the word that the district is looking for speech and occupational therapists.
“We’re grateful to have the ability to provide the services for the students,” she said. “We would like to hire people through the district rather than contractors, but we’re happy that these students will have these services.”
The district’s speech therapists are happy, also, that students will receive services, but they are also frustrated at the way in which the district is handling the situation.
“I am really upset that the district is paying an outside person more than twice my salary to provide services for 36 students,” said speech therapist Laurie Tindall. “I have 50 students and work four days a week.”
The therapists say the district needs to do more to find therapists to hire.
“I am upset, but I do understand that the district is between a rock and a hard place,” said Kae Jenny-Spencer, who works five days a week with 47 3-5-year-olds. “The students need to be serviced. I just feel that they haven’t fully exhausted other avenues.”
Welsh said there are no clear cut reasons why there is a state shortage of speech therapists. The special education division of the California Department of Education confirms the shortage, noting that there are a number of reasons, including a preference for clinical work versus working in public education.
Tindall, Jenny-Spencer and fellow therapist Steve Spencer wrote a letter explaining their position.
“We as current speech therapists in this district are very upset,” they wrote. “We understand that service must be provided, however, we feel the district has not used/offered the incentives allowed by contract (like a signing bonus) to attract speech therapists.”
Special education advocate Linda McNulty said she has a similar concern. She also saw other ways for the district to solve the problem.
“I commend the district for doing exactly what is mandated by law,” she said. “If speech service has become delinquent for some time, then the district is obligated by law to seek outside service and that is costly.”
McNulty believes the incentives could be a good idea; she also thinks that there are some students – high-functioning Autism students – that could benefit from a social skills class in place of speech therapists.
“I believe if we can offer a program that is taught by qualified personnel in social cognitive deficits, we can more effectively meet the needs of the students in a cost effective way,” she said. “There are people who are very specialized in this area and don’t necessarily need to meet the criteria of a speech therapist.”
Some districts have legal concerns about substituting these types of programs, McNulty added, but she said she believes the idea should be pursued.
When the district solves its speech therapist problem by going outside to a contractor, Tindall said, she “really doesn’t feel valued.”
“We are wondering if we should quit our jobs and then get hired back at twice our salary and work with fewer students,” Tindall, Spencer and Jenny-Spencer wrote.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
