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Public commenters press board on minutes transparency and facial-recognition concern; superintendent to restore employee grievance meetings
Summary
Residents and staff used the visitor portion of the Feb. 18 Caddo Parish School Board meeting to press for full meeting minutes, raise concerns about a facial-recognition timeclock (UKG), and urge a return of employee grievance/presentation sessions; the superintendent said staff will schedule grievance meetings.
Several members of the public and district staff used the Feb. 18 visitor comment period to press the Caddo Parish School Board for greater transparency and to raise workplace concerns tied to the district's timeclock system.
John Glover, a resident, told the board he wants full, detailed transcriptions of meeting minutes made available to the public rather than excerpts. He said changes to how minutes are produced leave citizens unable to vet agenda items in a timely way.
Third-grade teacher Wendy Perrin, who identified herself as a Keithville teacher, said many employees feel unable to speak up and described a personnel-related problem she said was communicated in a note before the Christmas break. Perrin told the board that teachers were being told their employment was contingent on enrolling their biometric data in the district's timekeeping system. "My employment was contingent on having my facial recognition be entered into the system," she said, adding that the communication eroded morale.
Jordan Thomas, speaking as an employee representative, urged the board to restore employee complaint and grievance meetings held by the executive committee, saying such sessions allow staff to present concerns outside the work day and without lengthy unrelated agenda items consuming time.
During the superintendent's remarks later in the meeting, Keith Burton said staff had met with employee organizations and that the district planned to return to the earlier practice of scheduling employee grievance/presentation meetings. Burton said staff would present dates for those meetings in the near future and that a faculty meeting for J. S. Clark Academy and a community meeting at that school were imminent.
Board members acknowledged the concerns and noted staff would follow up. No new board action on UKG or minutes-production policy was recorded in the meeting excerpt; the superintendent's comments indicate staff will propose dates for employee-focused grievance meetings soon.
