Glenview School District 34 officials recommended Monday adding seven staff positions for the next school year, and announced a projected decrease in the number of classroom teachers.
Three of the recommended positions are in the Students Services Department, which requested an additional student services coordinator, a psychologist and an out-of-district liaison, according to a district report presented to the Board of Education. It also recommended adding an instructional coach for English learner and bilingual students, a full-time Spanish translator and interpreter, and the equivalent of two full-time certified nurses.
Meanwhile, the district is projected to lose the equivalent of five full-time classroom teaching positions next year because of a projected drop in enrollment of 63 students, according to Heather Hopkins, executive director of human resources.
District 34 spokeswoman Jennifer Nimke said that “it’s not apples to apples” when comparing the recommended staff positions and the projected decrease in classroom teaching positions, which are tied to enrollment. The proposed positions were determined based on needs in those departments, she said.
“We are not asking to let go of teachers in order to add the positions proposed (Monday) night,” she said.
The report said adding a student services coordinator would allow the district’s two middle schools to each have one student services coordinator. Officials also recommended hiring an out-of-district liaison to represent students educated in non-District 34 classrooms, according to a district press release.
Officials also recommended adding a psychologist who would work primarily with middle school students, it said.
District officials also recommended that a current part-time student services administrative assistant become a full-time position, the report said. Michael Meyers, an interim executive director of student services, said the department “is very paperwork heavy,” and upgrading the position “would help the department run more efficiently.”
Kristine Patterson, director of English learners and bilingual programs, said the proposed instructional coach’s responsibilities would include monitoring bilingual students who no longer receive Spanish language support as they transition from fifth to sixth grade, and working with district staff to “ensure appropriate representation of English learners and bilingual students in accelerated math classes.”
District officials also recommended hiring a full-time Spanish translator and interpreter who would be available district-wide, and would be responsible for “managing, organizing and updating every document that exists that we need to provide in Spanish,” Nimke said.
The instructional coach position will be covered by federal grant funds, and the translator and interpreter salary will equal the amount the district currently spends on translations, she said.
The board will vote on the proposed positions at its March meeting.
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