Public comments on special education contracts sparked a broader discussion at the Columbia Public Schools board on Monday.
Comments have been made by Noelle Gilzow, president of the Columbia Missouri National Education Association (the teachers’ union), among others, about collective bargaining agreements that would outsource staff in occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and social/emotional services, including student assessment.
“Originally, it made sense to have such a contract for these specific situations, but when it is used to fill one or more vacant positions for a school year, it creates a labor problem,” Gilzow said. “As we collectively bargain for the CPS teacher unit, we are wall-to-wall, meaning we advocate for teachers, counselors, administrators, librarians, secretaries, IT professionals and teaching and classroom assistants, aides and speech therapists, among others.”
“…CMNEA believes in a great public school for every student. That’s why we opposed the expansion of charter schools in Boone County. So why are we privatizing public school services?”
There were also concerns about the lack of mutual non-compete clauses in the contracts.
Board member April Ferrao generally echoed concerns raised by commenters and others addressed to her on Monday, but said after discussions with district attorneys that reciprocal non-compete clauses are not typically common in contracts.
“I’m not sure where I stand on that yet,” she said. “What steps are we taking to really hire staff instead of having to outsource, and do we have a rough idea of how many special education teachers or support staff we might need to contract?”
Filling special education positions continues to be a problem for the district, responded Superintendent Brian Yearwood.
“We certainly don’t want to start the year understaffed because we want to make sure our special needs scholars have everything they need to be successful. Sometimes we need to take extra steps to make sure we hire skilled workers, even if only on a temporary basis, while also keeping an eye on our recruitment efforts.”
Recruitment is always a top issue for staff in the Department of Special Services, said Alyse Monsees, director of special services. The contracted positions include some for speech therapists and other therapeutic positions that can also be found in the private sector, she added.
According to Monsees, SLP interviewees declined to accept the position because of the salary, despite being told of other benefits of working for the district, such as better working hours.
The district is short a speech therapist, a school psychologist and three learning specialists. The district insists it will not move to virtual services and wants to maintain in-person services for students, Monsees said. Considerations for consistent staffing, whether CPS employees or contractors, are part of the district’s work, she added.
The salary issue may be discussed at a later board meeting, Ferrao said, and the district is in the process of preparing a request for proposals for a compensation study, Chief Financial Officer Heather McArthur said.
“We want to wait to make any salary decisions while we prepare to do this district-wide salary study. Hopefully the first reading will be on the agenda for the tax rate hearing (August 22, 7:30 a.m.) and then the second reading for the board meeting in September. Then they will start their work in the fall so their recommendations will be ready for our budget season next year,” McArthur said.
One of the three outsourcing contracts (BlazerWorks) that were taken off the agenda for further discussion was approved. The Sunbelt and Novo Staffing contract agreements were deferred until the August 22nd rate hearing due to questions about an incomplete contract document for Sunbelt and different contract language than Novo Staffing and because there is no registered agent in the state of Missouri. Another therapy contract that was not taken off the agenda was approved.
Charles Dunlap covers local politics, community stories and other general issues for the Tribune. Reach him at [email protected] or @CD_CDT on X, formerly Twitter. Subscribe to support important local journalism.
