The Warren County R-III School Board has voted to expand its staff in response to a growing need in the special education department.The board discussed options during its monthly meeting on Oct. 13, deciding upon Proposal B, which was to hire one full-time teacher to split between the high school and middle school.Currently, the district exceeds the recommended caseload for its two teachers of severe and low-incidence classrooms.The suggested ratio is between four to 10 students per teacher.In 2012-2013, the two R-III classrooms had eight and nine students, respectively, with that number rising ever since. This year those classrooms are at 14 and 15 students apiece, placing a burden on teachers and preventing them from providing necessary one-to-one interaction and instruction.“Based on the numbers, we want to make sure we’re staying in compliance,” said Superintendent Jim Chandler, who says the growing need is a product of both awareness and move-ins. In recent years, R-III has had to hire additional staff after the need was warranted weeks or months into the semester.“For us, the last few years we’re seeing more because of the amount of students coming in from other districts,” said Chandler. “That’s what affects us — the constant moving in and out of our district. That’s why we have to keep a watchful eye on things.”Proposal A called for the hiring of two full-time teachers, one for the middle school and the other for high school, in the Essential Skills program.Instead, the board voted for Proposal B, which will have the new teacher working with high school students in the morning and middle school students in the afternoon.The anticipated cost of the addition would be $52,839.89 for a bachelor’s degree Level 5 instructor, along with $10,000 for startup costs. The total cost for Proposal A would have been $115,679.78.“People are doing a better job of identifying what the needs are, and we need to be sure we have the personnel to meet the needs of our students,” added Chandler.Warren County R-III