SALISBURY — The Rowan-Salisbury Schools Board of Education approved two contracts at its most recent meeting to accommodate visually impaired and deaf/hard of hearing students.

Executive Director of Exceptional Children Elizabeth Mitcham presented the contracts before the school board which were both approved.

The first contract is with Invision Services and is for the visually impaired.

“As part of the provision of special education and related services, we have to provide services for students and their needs related to visual impairment,” Mitcham said.

According to Mitcham, the school system has continued to recruit for an in-person visual impairment teacher that would be an RSS employee.

“It is posted,” Mitcham said. “We continue those recruitment efforts but have not been able to find one so we want to continue our invision contract that we have had for some time.”

Mitcham indicated that Invision has provided RSS orientation and mobility specialists for a number of years and during the previous school year, provided a teacher of the visually impaired full time.

“This contract includes staff travel and any necessary student evaluations as well as (Individualized Education Program) development, consultation that we have with staff and any off campus instruction that has to happen with orientation and mobility,” Mitcham said.

The contract is not to exceed $200,000 for the school year.

“It is the same contract amount from last year,” Mitcham said. “It is funded through state and federal sources provided specifically for this provision.”

Mitcham mentioned that in order to meet projected needs, the district estimates requiring $175,000 but the additional $25,000 offers flexibility to address incoming or increasing needs.

“We don’t know how many students might enroll that would need those services,” Mitcham said. “We have to be prepared to provide those between now and June 30, 2026.”

Mitcham told the board that last year, RSS served approximately 13 visually impaired students at varying levels.

The next contract is a new contract with Carter Hears! Of the Carolinas. This is a new contract.

“Similarly, to students with visual impairments, students who are deaf or hard of hearing, who need those supports also have to be provided services,” Mitcham said.

According to Mitcham, RSS had a full-time teacher of the deaf employed with RSS but that person is not going to be with the school system for the upcoming year.

“We posted and we are recruiting, looking for ways to have someone here full time with us as a direct employee, but since we have not filled that yet, we have a company that is in Fort Mills, so pretty local to us that has someone in place already, who can start with us on July 1 as a full time teacher of the deaf,” Mitcham said. “They also have additional staff. We have a growing number of students requiring services so there is a possibility that we would need one and a half teachers in this role for next year. They are able to staff that immediately so they would not have a vacancy for that.”

This contract similarly includes staff travel, evaluations and IEP development, just like the contract with Invision.

This contract is not to exceed $175,000 and is also funded through state and federal sources.

“We are expecting to spend $145,000, assuming we don’t have any additional student needs but would like the flexibility not to exceed that $175,000,” she said.

Mitcham said that last year, they served 29 students all year long and about 15 additional that ame and went during the year.