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February 8th 1:45 Administration, School Board Auditorium

Agenda for meeting provided by Sherry Pianalto

Attendees: Sherry Pianalto, Tonya Truitt, Steven Smith, Dawnel Bilderback, Damon Donnell, Jeremy White, Kelly Hayes, Maribel Tapia, Vicky Reed, Christina Napolitano, Janet Hornberger, Dee Hobbs

Absent: Rebeca Gonzalez & Maria Vazquez

• January Minutes approved

• MARIBEL TAPIA shared the progress of the Smore. We had over 2000 visits on the January PPC Smore, meaning it is reaching classified staff members. (Smore is the platform our district uses to send out newsletters and communications via email).

• The committee agreed to add Principals and Central Admin to receive the Classified PPC list

• Maribel gave a tour of the PPC Website & will be working with Dustin Mapes to get it linked to the District Website.

• Update on Google Form for Classified Staff Questions and Concerns

• The form is working and Maribel Tapia and Damon Donnell will be adjusting it so the questions will be routed to the proper department so they can respond in a timely manner. This was planned but hasn’t happened due to inclement weather and scheduling conflicts. They will update progress at the March PPC meeting.

• Damon update on Safety Training for all Classified Staff

• Rusty Johnson has almost all schools scheduled to train the classified staff on Emergency Procedures, Catapult EMS, and Active Assailant Training.

• Mr. Johnson is working to make training videos so that next year it will be easy for the safety designee in each building to train their classified staff each semester.

• The committee expressed concern that training and communication for this should always be offered in both English and Spanish. Damon noted that this was also a priority that the district is working on.

• Mr. Johnson is doing a great job with building walkthroughs for every school each month and implementing measures to keep our schools safe.

• All staff got invitations to sign up for Catapult EMS, but many may not have fully enrolled. All staff are encouraged to download the Catapult EMS app on their phones.

• Dr. Cleveland has made the decision to no longer charge for replacement keys and badges.

• Nurses Training:

• Nurses are required to do continuing education in order to keep their licensure. The district doesn't compensate or provide training necessary to renew their license. (Certified staff are provided training opportunities by the district throughout the year)

• Social Workers are provided opportunities to get training. Many of those trainings are free or at a minimal cost.

• Food Service also noted the district pays for their training.

• Christina Napolitano noted the initial concern brought to the PPC was for a salary increase for nurses and the Professional development was more of a sidebar topic Damon Donnell deferred to Kelly Hayes who will be discussing salaries.

• Evaluations for Classified Staff

• The process has begun for Classified Staff Evaluations. The format is a self evaluation model and the form is standard but may be tailored to each department.

• The staff member fills out their own evaluation and then meets with their supervisor to discuss and review any areas for improvement. Each department will be modifying it to meet the needs & expectations of their area.

*Custodial and Maintenance have begun the process of giving out the self evaluation form, the Warehouse will start theirs soon & Food Service will do theirs in May. Transportation will be getting them soon.

• The supervisors are completing everyone at once this year, but next year the plan is to evaluate the staff on the anniversary of their start date. This will help the larger departments to spread them out

• Nurses have an evaluation system in place

• Social Workers evaluations are in development using a format the TESS model

• Kelly Hayes addressed questions regarding increased pay for substitutes.

• There is concern that Subs now make more money per day ($107/day) than a new Full Time Instructional aide.($99.58/day)

• Pay was increased for substitutes because other districts raised their pay for subs. In order to hire and maintain substitute teachers, the district has to stay competitive.

• What is the benefit to becoming a full time employee if you can make more as a substitute?

• Subs timesheet employees don’t get sick days or personal days like contracted employees do.

• They may have to work at different locations each day.

• Is the district going to review this?

• Yes, the district evaluates all salaries every year.

• We had a question regarding the calendar options for next year. On all 3 options for the Christmas break, we get 9 days off instead of 10. Could you ask when classified will get this day back? This is regarding the 195 contract for secretaries.

• We count out the days on the calendar. So, if you only have 9 days off at Christmas, then you will be finished a day earlier. If you are unsure of your scheduled days the business office provides the contract beginning and ending dates each year, they are located on the website. If you are unsure of your scheduled days the business office provides the contract beginning and ending dates each year, they are located on the website. If you are unsure of your scheduled days the business office provides the contract beginning and ending dates each year, they are located on the website. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YTwfWoOiY5D1h62K3RoEg83Nxxv9LBf6/view?usp=sharing

• A new policy on Banquet pay after school hours and expectations of groups using facilities. Including the agreement that there will be numerous adult volunteers along with the students from beginning to end. That facilities will be left exactly as entered. Also, staff that volunteer are offered/allowed a small break or meal during the event.

• This question will be posed to Gena Smith-revisit at March PPC

• Do second shift custodians have the option to work over time? If no, why not?

• Yes they do have the option to work overtime. There is a sign up sheet, if you are interested in working overtime contact Wayne Buttram. There is a list and they call when help is needed.

• Why do custodial staff have to work on snow days/AMI days?

• All staff who work on extended contracts are contracted on those days Custodial, Maintenance, Central Admin, Technology, Child Nutrition, etc. If you feel you can’t safely make it in, you should take a personal, sick or vacation day.

* Unlike Teachers who can work from home (on AMI days) or can make up snow days at the end of the year, longer contracts don’t have the ability to “make them up” since they are contracted “year round”.

• Can night custodians receive safety training? and\or Catapult training?

• Yes all employees will receive training

• What is going to be done when remodeling Southwest and Central when removing asbestos?

• A third party company is going to be hired who will remove all asbestos from the buildings. It could be done over Spring Break, depending on Construction dates, otherwise it will be June 1st before demo begins

• What is the policy about retirement for classified staff?

• To retire without penalty with teacher retirement an employee must have at least 28 years of service or be age 60 with at least five years of service. This applies to both certified and classified employees. (KHayes)

• My understanding is currently we have two salary pots....classified and certified. In exploring the potential to help out with the bus shortage, I can not drive a bus since I already work 37.5 hours a week with my current classified position. Is there a possibility that the transportation pay could be from a separate pot, so that classified workers could possibly help with this bus shortage??

• Currently, we are allowing any employee to drive a bus--even if it puts classified employees into overtime. (KHayes)

• Are IAs fully equipped to assist with Tier 3 students? They don't receive specialized training or instruction on how to address high-risk students or special needs/learning disabilities/etc.

• Please express these concerns to your building administrator, SPED office or your building nurse.

• I want to ask if the IA's can get sub pay on top of their pay when they're subbing. It's really sad that they're the ones getting put in classes without proper compensation when they make the least amount of money.

• There are no plans to pay IAs their regular wage and sub pay at the same time for the same day. (KHayes)

• Will Social Work salaries be looked at/reassessed for the 2022-2023 school year?

• All salary schedules are reassessed each year. A major adjustment was made to the Social Worker schedule this past year--i.e the number of contracted days were reduced significantly but the salary schedule was not reduced accordingly and their work hours were reduced. (Khayes)

• Can classified employees that have worked in the district for many years be able to get more of a raise? Some of us have topped out on steps for several years.

• We are looking at this issue. (Khayes)

• Will more steps be added to the classified salary schedule? I think it would help with turnovers in classified staff.

• We are looking at this issue. (Khayes)

*Mr. Hayes explained to the committee that all salaries are evaluated each year and many things are taken into account when looking at pay increases, including how Springdale salaries compare with surrounding districts. Some of the challenges the district faces include the fact that the other 3 “big” districts have higher millage rates and fewer children and we have the smallest tax base which means they have more money to work with. Out of the other “big 4” school districts we are the only ones who are still down on enrollment from where we were “pre-covid”.

• Where can staff get answers to questions that are not Policy Questions?

• Use the input form and the questions can be directed to the correct department.

• The PPC voted to change the Monthly Meeting to the 1st or 2nd Thursday of the month so it’s not on the same day as the school board meeting. The schedule has changed to the following dates:

• March 10th

• April 14th

• May12th

• PPC Bylaws will be reviewed at the March Meeting

Meeting adjourned at 3:14