School Board trustees voted unanimously Tuesday night to spend
another $37,560 on special education contracts this year.
Morgan Hill – School Board trustees voted unanimously Tuesday night to spend another $37,560 on special education contracts this year.
During their Jan. 16, Morgan Hill Unified School District board members voted to spend $144,000 for a speech therapist to assist 36 students.
Special Education Director Salli Welsh said the new contracts are for three contractors. A speech therapist who has been working on a part-time contract will now extend her hours through the end of the year for an additional $34,560; a contractor will be paid a total of $2,000 to evaluate two severely disabled children; and a third contractor will be paid $1,000 to conduct a bilingual psychological evaluation.
Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini told trustees that Special Education costs the district $11 million this year, with $4 million coming out of the general fund budget. And, she said, costs have gone up $200,000 since the first interim budget was approved in early December.
Tognazzini said the district typically has between $250,000 and $500,000 in funds that have been allocated but not spent by the end of the year; she told trustees that the encroachments can be covered by these funds.
Welsh, who was hired this summer, has told trustees that she is try to hire a speech therapist and an occupational therapist for the district. She said she would rather hire special education specialists than use contractors, but she is having difficulty finding candidates for a variety of reasons.
The district is legally required to provide services such as speech therapy to special education students based on their Individual Education Plans (IEPs).
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
