Trustees of the Coachella Valley Unified School District heard multiple union speakers on July 17 alleging the district illegally transferred bargaining-unit work to outside contractors and urging the board to remove agenda item 14.1, a proposed contract with Acor Healthcare Services LLC.

The allegation centers on layoffs the district issued as part of a fiscal recovery plan and on recent board agenda items that union representatives say reassign tasks once performed by laid-off classified staff. "We face a very serious situation," said Dale Wissman, identifying himself as a CSEA labor representative. He told the board the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has issued a complaint and that the case could be expensive for the district: "You will lose this case. You will pay 5 to $10,000,000 back and put them back at your own cost."

Why it matters: union leaders said the district has laid off classified employees and then sought contractors to do the same duties, a practice they say is barred by state labor law and PERB precedent. Bianca Lomeli, speaking during public comment, told trustees the contract on the agenda would hire interpreters at $75 an hour for services that had been performed by bilingual psychological technician staff recently laid off: "This is not a coincidence. It is definitive evidence that the district has unilaterally transferred protected work to outside contractors."

Union leaders described recent PERB proceedings and a failed mediation. "It didn't go well," Wissman said of the informal settlement conference, and he described the union's willingness to supply funding concessions to restore jobs: "We're literally giving you the money to protect the job so you can open up schools to stop your law breaking." Joshua Fleming, a Senior Labor Relations Representative for CSEA, said the union will monitor board decisions: "We are gonna watch every move you make from the Oregon border to Mexico..."

Board action and status: Trustees removed agenda item 14.1 from the consent calendar for separate consideration. A motion to deny the contract was made and seconded, and the board took a roll call vote; the transcript shows disagreement and procedural uncertainty about the outcome and staff agreed to bring additional clarification back to the board. The board did not adopt a final, definitive disposition of the contract during the meeting.

Discussion vs. decision: union representatives presented alleged legal violations and urged immediate district action and settlement; staff explained the specific 14.1 contract, telling trustees the contract under consideration would provide two speech-language-pathology positions from the vendor while the district needs more ("district wide, we need 24 speech and language pathologists"), and trustees asked staff to return with clearer explanation of services and to consider bringing the vendor to a future meeting for questions.

Community impact and clarifying details: union speakers warned of potential reinstatement orders and backpay obligations if PERB or an administrative law judge rules against the district. Speakers emphasized operational impacts at school sites — library closures, missing front-office support, and interrupted services such as interpreters for IEPs and distribution of materials. Staff said the contractor's contract document included a rate sheet for multiple services but that the current approval was for two speech-language positions.

What they did next: the board asked staff to return with clearer documentation about the scope of the proposed contract (which vendor positions would be covered, whether services would be in-person, and how the vendor rates related to the specific requested positions) and to clarify how agenda item 14.1 aligns with bargaining obligations and ongoing PERB matters.