Speech pathologists may get $5,000 bonus

Speech pathologists, the highly skilled labor sought by school districts to diagnose speech disorders among other tasks, could potentially get their $5,000 bonus funded for the first time in two years.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education announced Thursday that it had found $3.6 million in one-time funds to give pathologists after not being able to fund their $5,000 stipends for the past two years. The bonuses would go into effect during the 2018-19 school year.

“After a careful, exhaustive analysis of all available funds to the agency, we are able to make the much-needed stipend for these school specialists possible,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister in a statement. “Speechlanguage pathologists, audiologists and school psychologists are in high demand in the private sector, and we need to keep these highly qualified professionals in our schools to ensure our children receive the services they need for successful learning.”

The state Department of Education news release noted that the appropriation was dependent on the approval of state budget leaders. It also noted that paying the bonuses in the future requires a restoration of the prior cuts made to Support of Public School Activities budget.

For Tulsa Public Schools, the return of the bonuses is welcome. Turnover among pathologists forced the district to hire an outside consultant last year for $427,000.

“We are thrilled that the $5,000 stipend for our audiologists, psychologists, and speech pathologists will be reinstated in the 2018-2019 school year,” Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist said in a statement. “These committed professionals provide much needed supports for some of our most vulnerable children, and they are critical to ensuring these students can achieve academic, personal and social success.

“While we are grateful for this one-time allocation, we urge our state leaders to sustain it by permanently restoring funding to the Support of Public School Activities budget.”