The Santa Fe School Board has approved a contract with a Colorado-based for-profit education company to provide services for special education students.
The one-point-five million dollar deal with Special Education of Colorado is for one year and includes 17 staff members hired by the company.
It wasn’t an easy sell and several board members and the teachers unions strongly objected to hiring an outside, private company to do the work they say should be handled locally.
Board member Kate Noble says it’s been a troubling trend nationwide.
“There has been a big push to privatize education and the whittle away at the edge of school districts and the funding that school districts have and that’s what doesn’t sit right when we hire contractors and privatize services,” she said. “I want a robust school district that is well compensated with lots of benefits, that builds community, that listens to people that pays people better and better and works consistently on all of the complex things.”
District officials say they would rather keep special education in-house, but have been having problems finding enough qualified people to take those positions.
Federal law requires special education students to be given an education of the same quality as others.
While the board approved the contact it made it clear the deal should only be a one-year stopgap.
Conditions were added to the deal that includes considering a location other than the proposed one at Aspen Community School. The Board also wants the administration to continue to recruit for the positions with a clear understanding of its preference to have Santa Fe Schools employees take over the positions next year.