The York County School Division is in need of new employees for services regarding students with disabilities, a van with a wheelchair lift and materials for special education.
The division is gearing up for budget season by hearing presentations on needs from its different departments. On Monday, school board members heard needs related to services for students with disabilities — one of many presented to the school board.
Director of Accountability and Instructional Services Lisa Pennycuff said the division is in need of hiring a social worker, a school psychologist intern, special education teachers and para-educators, a van with a wheelchair lift and materials for students with special needs.
The division has the worst social worker-to-student ratio in Hampton Roads, with one social worker looking out for 6,139 students. The next lowest social worker to student ratio is Gloucester, where social workers are responsible for about half as many students.
“I fear we’re doing our students a disservice,” Chairwoman Barbara Haywood said.
The charge of a school social worker is to help students who come from families in need succeed in school. They do so by connecting the student’s family to federal, state and community resources that will help fill their needs.
If the student needs food, they connect the family with a food shelter or SNAP benefits; if they’re homeless, they help the family find housing.
Pennycuff said the need for social workers in YCSD is a self-perpetuating problem created by the economy: A poor economy results in more families in need, but it also results in less funds for services to help those families.
“We have to continuously re-evaluate our limited resources,” Pennycuff said.
According to the division’s pay schedule, social workers make anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000 per year.
Pennycuff also said the division needs a new school psychologist intern who would help free up the time of school psychologists by administering psychological evaluations. York County has the second lowest school-psychologist-to-student ratio in Hampton Roads with one psychologist for every 1,754 students. Williamsburg-James City County has the lowest with one psychologist for every 2,160 students.
School psychologist interns make about $13 per hour or about $20,000 per year.
Special education teachers and para-educators, who assist special education teachers, are also needed in the county. The teachers are on the same payscale as the social workers, making $40,000 to $70,000 per year. Instructional para-educators start at about $10 per hour or $13,000 per year.
The special education teachers are needed, Pennycuff said, because the division is edging close to a state cap for caseloads in schools. The cap was put in place to keep the workload manageable for special education teachers and para-educators.
Pennycuff also said the school is in need of a van with a wheelchair lift to assist disabled students. The division is also in need of instructional materials related to special education and instructional intervention programs. Administrators are researching the costs of the latter two items.
The school board will see an updated but incomplete version of next year’s operating budget Jan. 6. A forum will be held for public input Jan. 27. The superintendent’s recommended budget will be presented in mid-February.
