Classified staff say district purchasing changes have shifted heavy workload to school secretaries

Classified employees and school staff told the Chula Vista school board that a recent change in the district’s purchasing process has shifted much of the purchasing, returns and inventory work onto school secretaries.

At the public comment portion, Angela Reed, representing classified employees, described a range of new tasks now assigned to school secretaries: creating purchase orders across multiple vendors, managing returns and warranties, gathering quotes, entering new budget codes and scanning receiving documents. Reed said the change has increased small purchases at higher cost, added repetitive re‑entering of canceled orders, and left secretaries with less time to perform their core tasks supporting students and site operations.

Board and staff questions at the meeting clarified the district’s plan to centralize higher‑level procurement functions and add a district-level “lead buyer” position whose role includes purchasing at scale, supervising warehouse distribution and training site staff. District staff said site secretaries will continue to place routine orders but that district procurement will pursue bulk purchasing and provide on‑site training when errors or order issues occur. The district explained that some warehouse functions will remain under district control and that the lead buyer would oversee coordination and delivery of large orders.

Board members pressed for clarity about how these changes alter secretaries’ job duties and what training or reassignment will be available. District staff said the lead buyer will visit campuses to train staff and to resolve order issues, and noted that the secretary duties remain part of their job description. The board requested additional information and updated job descriptions in the consent materials; staff agreed to update the reporting lines and descriptions where missing.