[DOCUMENT] The Lakewood Board of Education recently requested that Lakewood mosdoscomplete a survey detailing their preferred method for delivering Special Education services. The District this school year, for the first time, switched from a single-source method to a multivendor approach. This enables each mosad to select its vendor. Such a choice was never before available. The District’s Survey seeks feedback and provides an assessment tool.
Attached, is one response to this Survey, as submitted to the BOE by Tashbar, and reprinted here with permission. In the detailed response, Tashbar sets forth the pros and cons of multivendor method vs the single-source method, and shows that the pros decisively outweigh the cons.
“The result is more and better services at far lower cost”, Tashbar says.
“As shown here, there are significantly greater accountability and transparency under the multivendor approach. In other words, above and beyond the tremendous cost savings of this method, there is now greater vendor responsiveness, accountability, and involvement by the mosdos. These reflect better services, ultimately benefitting our children with special needs, as well as those children who need a little tutoring help to catch-up in English and math, or speech and other therapies”. TLS.
YOC decided that some of the over crowding for some of the therapy service was worthless. and they are correct.
you pay for what you get.
NOT ON PROGRAMS AND PAY CRAZY TAXES. WHAT DO WE GET FOR THAT- LOUSY OVERCROWDED WORTHLESS PROGRAMS.
Who in their right mind would argue for a monopoly, and against free market competition? A monopoly is disastrous no matter which provider gets it, even if it’s the school district itself.
I’d like to know who is trying to restore the old discredited method? Let them put their arguments and their name in the open just as Rabbi Hertz did.
Tashbar was the one who pushed the new board to switch to the multivendors. Let them just quiet down and not bash others.
Very well written, solid points!
This is a well-written piece, focused entirely on the relative merits and on the issues. No one was bashed. what’s you agenda? State it clearly. We’re listening.
#1-you are absolutely correct! Overcrowding is just a way for Catapult to pocket more money. They get funding per student and pay the teachers/therapists a salary based on working hours, not based on the # of students they service. Orchos Chaim is right for eliminating therapies that are overcrowded, but can easily remediate this issue by switching to the other vendor. I personally have spoken to therapists working for Tree of Knowledge and they confirmed that there is a maximum of 3 in a group, and they try to keep the groups even smaller!! If you care about your children losing out, speak to your schools. If what Rabbi Hertz is correct, then it sounds like Lakewood finally got what they were looking for!