Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

GHS Deficient In Area Of Special Ed

By JOHN MILLER

Special education requirements headed Gurdon's School Board meeting Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Martha Burks, special education supervisor for five schools in the area, informed the board of areas where Gurdon is deficient.

The biggest problem is overcrowding in the resource room, as the student-teacher ratio is higher than allowed by law.

In the October meeting, Bobby Smithson, superintendent, had the situation examined to see if some of the special ed students couldn't be mainstreamed in regular classrooms.

This, however, was not possible and, Smithson said, the district has had more special ed students move in. He informed the board he had sought a waiver, but because the district got a waiver last year for the same problem, one couldn't be granted this year.

Burks said the student/teacher ratio is regulated with no room for discussion in the matter. She said the district had 29 students in two different rooms.

The resource room instructor is only supposed to have three students at a time, but has six, she said.

The students in question, Burks continue, are unable to handle regular class work and need to be in self-contained programs.

She recommended the district move a part time teacher to half-time special ed instructor, which would get the district in compliance.

Should the district remain out of compliance, she told the panel the funding could be frozen until the situation is resolved. This could cost the district about $40,000.

Time is critical as these funds are generated as of Dec. 1.

In addition, she said, if the funds are frozen other problems could occur, which could being in the Office of Civil Rights. However, she said this has not happened anywhere yet.

The board was informed 30 special ed students had been added since last year, bringing the number to 152. The district has a total of 928 students.

Burks said the district has raised the entry level requirements for students now trying to qualify as special ed students.

According to Burks, the state will be on hand to monitor the situation in Feb. 1997, examining the overall program. The state department, she said, wants the district to have a plan to handle the problem, or it could be cited for being out of compliance.

It would be Gurdon's second such citation.

For those students trying to qualify for the special ed program, Burks said they must meet specific criteria and undergo a battery of testing, along with having some type of disability. The student's grades are also examined by a panel to see if he or she qualifies.

The testing period, she said, takes sixty days.

In addition, she said the number of special ed is comparable to other district's this size.

She also informed the board the regulations go by the number of students qualifying as special ed, and not the actual number of hours they spend in the classroom.

The board was told it couldn't move students from special ed into the mainstream for administrative purposes.

What's done, she said, must be done in the best interest of the student. All in the Gurdon program were looked at, she continued, but none could be moved.

These students must be able to handle the situations they are placed in and pass regular classes.

Each year, the students are reevaluated with their parents to see how they are doing. Regulations also require the students be evaluated every three years according to state and federal guidelines.

"Everyone in the program," Burks said, "is there legally."

Behavioral problems, though, are not considered to be disabilities, and students can't qualify as special ed if they are or have behavior problems.

The state of Arkansas, she said, recognizes 12 disabilities.

The board agreed to hire Tara Williams as half-time special education teacher, and will work on a plan to remain in compliance.

In other business, Smithson said there has been no change in delivery date for bleachers for the new gym.

He said they are scheduled to be shipped on Dec. 4 from Maine, with the transport taking three or four days.

Once the bleachers arrive, a Dallas, Texas company will install them.

Until the bleachers are installed and operational, all home basketball games will be played in the Gurdon Middle School gym.

The revolving loan, he said, will give the district enough capital to finish paying for the gym's construction, as well as the goals and bleachers.

In discussing the parking lot suit, Smithson said the original suit called for $14,000 in damages, which will not be enough to make the necessary repairs as the lot continues to deteriorate.

It cost the district more than $79,000 to have the lot built, and could cost this much in repairs, depending on how long the suit takes and how fast the lot falls apart.

Cal-Trex, the installing company, has named BB&B, the subcontractors, as a third party in the suit, claiming the dirtwork was not properly done.

Smithson said for the district to cover all its bases, it, too, may need to name BB&B as a defendant -- just in case.

"We need to be as aggressive as possible," he said.

The board concurred, giving Smithson permission to ask for whatever it takes to repair the parking lot in damages.

Salary raises were also discussed by the panel, with Smithson saying the district's auditor originally suggested giving raises in two steps to meet the new state salary schedule. These steps were to be across the board raises of $1,000.

There are three areas the district is out of compliance, with the largest area in the final step which is $861 below state requirements. The other two steps are also below average, but by considerably less.

The district's personnel policy committee presented the teachers with two proposals -- one the $1,000 across the board raise, and the other increases based on experience and step increments.

The vote was close, 33 in favor of the first choice, with 34 voting for No. 2, but two teachers had not voted.

The results changed after the last two voted to 35 for No. 1 and 34 for No. 2.

However, the first option doesn't cover extended year people, such as coaches.

Smithson recommended giving all non-certified personnel raises of 5 percent.

He reminded the board of the old 56 percent law, where when any new net income came into the district, 56 percent was mandated for salary increases. He said in the spring, if it's possible, he would like to see this done again.

Stipends for assistant coaches were also discussed. Coaches, Smithson said, were originally given stipends above their base salary.

The assistant coaches, he said, work 10 months and should be eligible for 10 months salary. He recommended placing these coaches on 10 month contracts and eliminating their stipends.

The board followed all of Smithson's suggestions for salaries.

Smithson d