By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
 LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education reinstated its special education supervisor position at its meeting on Aug. 28.
The move was approved by a 6-0 vote. Trustee Scott Taylor was absent from the meeting.
The district has not had the position in at least more than a decade, said Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Adam Weldon, which is why the request for reinstatement was brought before the board.
“I think the biggest reason we’re seeking it is the needs of the department have grown both qualitatively and quantitatively,” Weldon said. “From a needs standpoint, our students who qualify for special education services today are really coming in with much higher needs than we’ve experienced in the past.”
Needs across the district increased significantly within the last five to 10 years, according to Weldon.
From the 2015-16 school year to the 2023-24 school year, the number of students qualifying for special education services increased from 803 to 917.
From a Full Time Equivalency (FTE) student standpoint, the total number of FTEs increased from 169.75 to 277.99 in the same period. Of that number, special education FTE students represented 2.2% of the total FTE count during the 2015-16 school year, while last year they represented around 4.1%.
“Needs have been significant,” Weldon said.
Weldon also said regulations, paperwork and laws regarding special education have also increased – leading to a need for increased support for special education teams and administration to ensure LOCS is in compliance with laws and required documentation.
Weldon added that LOCS currently has one director and four teacher consultants in the special education department. With this decision, the district would continue with this model and add a special education supervisor
LOCS administrators will evaluate if replacing a fifth teacher consultant who left for another district over the summer is necessary.