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PSS considers hiring alien workers for SPED program
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Posted on Apr 11 2005
The Public School System is looking at hiring nonresident workers for its Special Education program, despite a government directive stopping the hiring of nonresident workers within government offices by Sept. 30.
Board of Education chair Roman Benavente said the proposal was brought up during a special board meeting last month. He said the proposal aims to fill hard-to-fill positions like speech therapists and other specialists under the Special Education program in schools.
He said these hard-to-fill positions are slots that require highly skilled and trained individuals for Special Education. He said these positions also happen to have higher compensation levels. He said experts are paid $70,000 to $100,000 per annum in the United States.
“It’s going to be hard to bring them out here and pay them only $30,000 to $40,000 a year,” he said.
He the Education commissioner Rita H. Inos and the entire board are studying the probability of recruiting nonresidents for these positions. They would still have to approve the final proposal before they bring it to the Legislature for approval, said Benavente.
He said the proposal intends to hire professionals initially from Canada and Australia. He said the Philippines could also be an option for them. “But the numbers would be very, very limited,” he said.
Though he understands the government’s directive in discontinuing the hiring of nonresidents in government offices, he said he hopes their proposal would get a “sunset provision,” which would allow them to hire the nonresident workers for the Special Education program.
He said the provision would allow them to hire nonresidents for a certain period of time only. He said he is certain that the government, upon receiving the proposal, would ask them to be very specific with the requirements to identify what really is needed.
Benavente said the board and the PSS have yet to finalize and approve the proposal. They hope to forward the proposal to the Legislature this week. He said they would have to be particular with the details, so the government would approve their request.
