Respectfully submitted to recommend contract with Soliant Health, Inc. for speech therapy services in SY2017-18.

In order to meet the needs of students, the district has been working with staffing companies to find qualified candidates.  Soliant Health located an SLP and this is the recommendation to the board for contract therapy services.  

There are 816 students in Barrow County who qualify for speech services. The maximum caseload for a Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP), based on Georgia state guidelines, is 55.  This puts our need at at least 15 SLPs.  Last school year, we had 14.4 SLPs employed with Barrow County Schools, and one person providing contracted therapy to meet the needs of students.  Due to the resignation of 6 SLPs and a new position added for growth, a job opening was posted that resulted in minimal qualified applicants to fill 7 positions. Three full-time SLPs and one part-time SLP have been recommended for employment, leaving 3.5 open positions with no applicants holding a certificate in Speech Pathology.  

Soliant’s hourly rate will be $72 an hour, 7.5 hours a day for 180 days:  $97,200