Litchfield Elementary School District will allow special education teachers to receive additional pay for managing additional classes when the district cannot secure a long-term substitute.
The governing board unanimously approved the staffing plan Nov. 3 as part of its consent agenda, creating an alternative to hiring contracted teachers during staffing shortages.
Under the plan, existing special education teachers may voluntarily take on additional responsibilities with approval from the district's Special Education and Human Resources departments.
Teachers managing an additional full class will receive $125 per day for the first 10 days and $155 per day thereafter. Compensation will be prorated when teachers assume only part of an additional caseload.
The arrangement is intended to maintain instructional services for students with disabilities when positions remain unfilled or long-term substitutes are unavailable.
According to a memo from Sandy Satterfield, executive director of human resources, participating teachers will be responsible for lesson planning, classroom management, direct instruction, student progress monitoring and parent communication.
They will also oversee instructional aides and ensure compliance with students' individualized education programs, or IEPs.
The district said the plan is designed to be cost-neutral because the additional compensation would replace spending otherwise allocated to long-term substitutes.
Although the board did not discuss the staffing proposal separately, Superintendent Carter Davidson highlighted the district's broader special education efforts during his report.
Davidson said he recently attended the district's third Special Education Parent Advisory Committee meeting, where families provided feedback about services for students with disabilities.
He praised the special education leadership team for "capturing the voice of our parents" and examining ways to improve services.
The district said the staffing arrangement will be reviewed periodically to evaluate its effectiveness, sustainability and impact on teacher well-being and student outcomes.
The district has not publicly identified in meeting materials how many classrooms or teachers are currently affected by staffing shortages.
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Meet Stacy Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.
Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.
Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!
Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.
Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.
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