- December 10, 2025
The Volusia County School Board approved a $1.8 million two-year contract for outside speech language therapy services, a decision criticized by some of the district's speech language pathologists who say Volusia County Schools is not paying them a livable wage.
VCS is piggybacking off a contract with the Seminole County School Board, setting aside $900,000 a year for the district to bring in outside speech language pathology assistants and SLPs to fill positions when needed. According to the two price schedules included in the contract, the companies would be paid $62 or $75 an hour to bring SLP assistants to VCS; bringing SLPs would cost $69 or $85.
Meanwhile, the district's SLPs are compensated between $36.58 and $48 an hour, depending on how long they've worked for VCS, numbers shared by Freedom Elementary SLP Joanne Strickland during the School Board meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
"We keep hearing that recruiting and retaining SLPs is difficult, but when you look at the numbers, it's not difficult to understand why," Strickland said. "The district is willing to pay contract companies rates that are far higher than what the highly trained, long-serving SLPs working for VCS are paid."
The contract, which was pulled from the meeting's consent agenda, was approved in a 3-2 vote, with School Board member Donna Brosemer and School Board Chair Ruben Colon voting against.
Brosemer wanted to postpone the contract's consideration until the board could have a workshop on the issue, and the contract could subsequently be brought back as an action item.
"I feel like this is a subject that requires a little more conversation among the board," Brosemer said. "I think some of the comments that were made tonight and some of the questions I've pursued on my own suggest that I need more information to understand why we're contracting so much of that service."
Five SLPs spoke before the School Board during the meeting. Some read statements on behalf of other SLPs in the district. All spoke about the district's low wages compared to contracted speech therapists, citing them as a reason many in their profession are leaving education to work in the medical field. The SLPs added that during the recent bargaining sessions, a stipend for their positions to make compensation more competitive was rejected by the district.
Robyn Perkins, an SLP at Volusia Pines Elementary, shared a statement from Beachside Elementary's SLP, Sara Ambrosio, who is resigning in January. Ambrosio, who was her school's Teacher of the Year in 2021, shared that she had been contacted by a contract company within 48 hours of her resignation. The company offered her $20 more per hour than what VCS was paying her — to work in the same school in the same role.
"The situation is not unique," Ambrosio's statement read. "It is a symptom of a larger systematic issue. We are constantly underpaid, underappreciated and overworked."
District staff explained to the board that the $1.8 million for the contract wasn't asking for more funding; rather, it is using funds from a prior contract to pay for SLP assistants. It also doesn't mean the district will use all those funds in the two years.
School Board member Krista Goodrich said she agreed that conversations about salaries for SLPs should be continued but supported the contract.
"I don't think stopping this today will fix the immediate need of what we have," she said.
Colon opposed the contract because it lacked a clause preventing the companies from hiring VCS employees.
"I don't want to be their recruiting grounds," he said.
