March 25, 2026
By ANASTASIA PENCHI
DE SOTO, Wis. – The De Soto Area School District is trying to figure out if there is a more economical way to help students with extra challenges learn and communicate.
In the meantime, the school board unanimously approved a contract with Lifetime Speech Therapy LLC to to provide speech pathology services to De Soto students for the 2026-27 school year during its March meeting.
The school district will pay $96 per hour for up to 24 hours per week for a total of 36 weeks, according to the contract. It will service no more than 29 students.
Speech pathologists are trained professionals who help individuals of all ages with communication skills related to speech, language, voice and swallowing. Interim Superintendent Craig Gerlach said most speech pathologists work for medical and rehabilitation centers because they pay better than school districts.
Public schools are required to offer speech pathology services as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which mandates that children with disabilities receive a “free appropriate public education.” Speech therapy services and goals are included in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Nick Mooney, special education director for the district, said the district has “exited” five students so far in the 2025-2026 school year, but at one time during the year there were 26 students receiving services.
“It’s been great,” Mooney said of the current contract with Lifetime. “We’ve seen quite a bit of success with it.”
Mooney said it’s hard to find speech pathologists who will work with small school districts. This will be De Soto’s third year using Lifetime, which offers virtual services to Wisconsin schools.
“For small districts it can be difficult to find or afford in-person speech and language services, so contracting with businesses that provide those services may be their only option,” Mooney said. “I prefer to use Lifetime Speech Therapy, because they have been easy to work with, our students’ success, and affordability.”
Board President Holly Nickelatti asked administrators to provide more context on costs and comparisons to previous years’ contracts so board members would know how decisions affect budgets. She said she knows the district did its “due diligence,” but she wanted to know the budget impact.
“We need the math,” she added.
Gerlach told the board that the speech therapy costs are not in the budget because there is no preliminary budget available yet for 2026-27. The final cost for this year’s contract also won’t be known until the year is over because it depends on the number of hours and number of students served.
“We have to provide these services,” Gerlach reminded the board.
Board members wondered if there was a way to create a full-time position featuring part-time speech therapist hours, along with some other responsibilities. They also discussed past challenges.
“We had kids that weren’t getting services,” board member Teresa Christianson said.
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