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Board questions suspension practices after employees lose pay and benefits during long investigations
Summary
Board members raised concerns about long unpaid suspensions, loss of insurance and limited use of alternate work assignments; administration said suspensions during investigations are unpaid but staff will analyze options including whether the district could absorb insurance premiums.
Board members pressed district leadership about how employees are treated when suspended during investigations, including whether alternate — paid — assignments could be used and whether the district can prevent loss of health insurance while an employee is on unpaid investigatory suspension.
Why it matters: Several board members described employees who had been suspended for extended periods, some without pay and with loss of employer‑sponsored insurance, creating financial hardship. Board members asked whether the district could provide alternate placement with pay or cover the insurance premium during the investigatory period.
Board member Slater described two teachers who were removed from their schools during the day and expressed concern about dignity and the process: he asked whether suspensions could be carried out during planning periods and through side doors to avoid public scenes. "I just think that the teachers ought to be treated with a little bit more respect," he said.
Legal counsel and administration explained procedures the district follows when allegations require notification of the Department of Children’s Services or law enforcement. Counsel said statute 49‑5‑511 (as quoted in discussion) directs that local investigations should not exceed 90 days when law enforcement or DCS are not involved; when those outside agencies are involved, their timelines take precedence and the district cannot proceed with its own investigatory steps until outside agency investigations conclude.
Director of Schools Dr. Brown told the board that "everyone who is suspended for purposes of an investigation is suspended without pay," and described the district practice: if the director later determines a shorter suspension without pay was warranted, the employee will receive back pay for the investigation period minus the disciplinary suspension days. The board asked how often suspensions result in discipline; administration answered that about 1.5% of employees were involved in these cases and that roughly 60% of those incidents result in some form of discipline.
Board members asked administration to provide options and cost estimates. The board requested that the chief financial officer and HR produce a ballpark estimate of what it would cost the district to cover insurance premiums (or to allow employees to pay the district premium rather than going to COBRA) for employees suspended without pay, and to identify how often alternate paid placements have been used and whether current policy language should be changed to make alternate assignment more available.
No formal board action was taken; staff said they would consult with the CFO and return with cost estimates and a proposal for possible policy language or procedural guidance.
