To help meet increased needs in bus ridership, electronic device support needs and increased special education enrollment, Pearland ISD’s board of trustees approved eight additional personnel positions at its Oct. 8 meeting.

The gist

According to district agenda documents, PISD administration requested the following positions to fill the various needs of the district:

• One six-hour bus driver, which would replace the current two three-hour inactivated positions
• One technical support supervisor, who would overlook reissuing new devices for students and staff
• One behavior support intervention, or BSI, teacher
• Three BSI aides
• One aide for Pearland’s Essential and Academic Readiness Skills, or PEARS, program
• One aide for Preschool Programs for Students with Disabilities

Diving in deeper

District officials noted at the meeting although student enrollment overall is decreasing, enrollment within the special education department is increasing.

Lisa Nixon, PISD’s assistant superintendent of educational services, said about 160 students have recently been enrolled in PISD’s special education department. Nearly another 180 students are pending evaluations to determine eligibility for special education services, she said.

“Everyday we get a new student that either qualifies or moves in for services for special programs. And that student is not just coming with reading difficulties, they are coming with behavior concerns and cognitive disabilities that we require additional personnel to help service their needs,” Superintendent Larry Berger said at the meeting.

What else?

While the total cost for the positions would be over $330,000, the district is saving over $35,000 due to inactivated positions.

The budget impact in the district’s general funds for these additional positions is just over $296,000, according to district documents.

Since June, the PISD board of trustees have now approved 16 personnel positions.

One personnel position was approved in June for an instructional coordinator, and seven personnel positions were approved in August, including special programs bus monitors, BSI and PEARS aides, as previously reported by Community Impact. These eight positions resulted in a budget impact on the district’s general funds of over $300,000, according to district documents.