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Schools

Report Calls for Sweeping Overhaul of San Bruno Special Ed

School Innovations & Advocacy recommends the hiring of a special education director and staffing changes that could save the district $450,000.

A recently released report is calling for an overhaul of special education at that could save the district more than $450,000.

Consulting firm School Innovations & Advocacy presented the Special Education Opportunity Report to the school board , recommending the hiring of a special education director and replacing contractors with in-house staff.

The sweeping report, funded by , is designed to tell the district how it can use its special education budget more efficiently and effectively.

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The main recommendation is for the district to hire a special education director who could oversee the department and the proposed changes. Currently, Superintendent David Hutt directs special education.

“He hasn’t been able to give the program the kind of hands-on attention that special education needs,” said Lee Funk, director of special education for School Innovations & Advocacy.

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Hutt said it's difficult to consider adding a new position in tight fiscal times. "But we’ve taken the idea under advisement and continue to consider it," he said.

The position would cost the district about $80,000 a year when factoring in savings in legal fees and utilizing Title I funds, according to the report. 

teacher Kathryn Marinos said some people may have a problem with hiring a new director when .

“The special ed teachers all think they need it,” said Marinos, who is a member of the San Bruno Education Foundation. “They said organization was much better when they had a central person in charge of things.”

Bridgette Malatesta, special education teacher with San Bruno-based Circle of Gold Educational Services, said a special education director could reduce legal fees if parents feel empowered.

“Whatever they do, they need a point person that builds the confidence of the parents in the service that is being provided,” Malatesta said.

The report also recommends the district hire speech and language pathologists, an occupational therapist and create special day classes, including one for students with autism, to cut down on consultant expenses and non-public school placements.

Hutt said the district is trying to hire a speech and language therapist but it's a hard position to fill because therapists can earn a higher hourly wage working for private businesses.

Funk said consultants do good work but the district sacrifices control. “Those people really aren’t working for the district,” he said. “They are really working for the agency.”

The biggest savings, $89,000 to $215,000, come from buying buses and hiring drivers to transport students with disabilities to school.

Hutt said the district already transports some special needs students using a nine-passenger van and 16-passenger bus. Coming up with the money to buy additional buses would be difficult, he said, adding that the district has struggled to hire qualified bus drivers.

In all, the reductions could amount to $309,069 to $453,934 per year.

“Doing the audit in itself was a move in the right direction,” Marinos said. “They are finally admitting there is an issue and got someone from the outside to figure out what shall we do to fix it. Now we will have to see if the board actually follows through on the recommendations.”

Hutt said the board would discuss the recommendations at its August or September meeting. 

Here is a summary of some of the report’s other findings:

  • Students with speech and language disabilities make up 35 percent of the district special education population.
  • The district needs to increase the proportion of time special needs students spend in regular classrooms. The district is failing to meet three state benchmarks that monitor how much time students spend in the least restrictive environment. For example, the number of disabled students receiving their special education outside of regular classrooms for less than 21 percent of the day needs to increase to meet the state target.
  • The district has a high ethnic disparity, when comparing representation of African American, Asian and Latino special needs students to the general student population. While about 10 percent of the district students participate in special education programs, 23 percent of African-American students are enrolled in special education.
  • English-learner students are overrepresented in special education, with English learners making up 46 percent of special education enrollment, compared to 36 percent of the district population.
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