PSS now offers maximum $10K pay differential to SpEd posts

The Public School System and the Board of Education are hopeful that, with the salary adjustment now in place for Special Education personnel, the shortage of related service providers would soon be addressed.

This comes after the Education Board formally adopted in its last meeting the new regulation providing incentives and pay differential for hard-to-fill Special Education personnel.

The new regulation, which was published in the Commonwealth Register in February, aims to retain qualified related services personnel in the system and for PSS to remain competitive in recruiting qualified candidates.

The incentives were approved and will be given retroactively to August 2008, when the board originally approved the proposal.

A pay differential of $10,000—the maximum approved incentive—will be provided for someone with a doctorate degree in specialty areas such as speech pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and psychologists. In this category, pay differential will be paid out on a quarterly basis and are subject to pro-rata calculation, should a complete 190-day contract is not met.

An $8,000 pay differential was also adopted for related service professionals that require a national registry exam and licensure from a national association. These include certified audiologists, certified speech language pathologists, registered physical therapists, registered occupational therapists, and registered/licensed educational psychologists. The incentive is also scheduled for pay out on a quarterly basis.

For those with a bachelor’s degree in Special Education, the board has approved a $3,000 pay differential on top of their salary. These specialty areas cover special education, early intervention, early childhood special education, deaf education, visual impairments, severe disabilities, autism, multiple disabilities, serious social and emotional disturbances, and behavioral and transition specialist.

Special Education personnel and related service providers who are outside the 190-day contract, or those working on an hourly basis, are approved a $75 per hour pay differential.

An example is during weekends or during non-instructional days where a pre-approval of the authorized supervisor and education commissioner is required to avail of the hourly pay differential.

If an individual qualifies for two or more pay differentials, only one pay differential that compensates at a higher rate will be allowed.

Vacancies

PSS reported that in school year 2007-2008, its Special Education program operated with 12 unfilled positions—six speech pathologists, three occupational therapists, two educational psychologists, and one physical therapist.

On top of this, seven teacher vacancies were noted last school year—in Hopwood Junior High, Garapan Elementary, William S. Reyes Elementary, Tinian Elementary, Tinian Jr. and High School, San Vicente Elementary, and Kagman High.

Saipan Tribune learned that the program currently has 36 teachers, of whom 22 are highly qualified, five with degrees in Special Education, and 9 with Special Education certifications.

The report also indicated that related service personnel during the last school year included only two speech pathologists, three occupational therapists, a physical therapist, four educational psychologists, one behavioral specialist, one assistive technology specialist, one audiologist, one transition coordinator, and one vision and orientation mobility specialist.