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Duluth schools report tentative union agreements, new HR manager and clerical job description updates
Summary
District staff said tentative agreements were reached with the directors association and the food services union; the district welcomed Steven Johnson as human resources manager, announced the departure of Executive Director Teresa Severance and previewed revised clerical job descriptions and a new payroll specialist position to handle paid leave.
Duluth Public Schools presented personnel and labor updates at the HR Business Services Committee meeting on Oct. 13, including tentative contract accords, a new hire in human resources and a slate of revised job descriptions that staff said were developed with union and employee input.
Why it matters: staffing, job descriptions and collective bargaining shape the district's ability to recruit and retain workers and to implement new state employment rules such as Minnesota paid leave beginning January 2026.
Key points from the committee discussion: - Negotiations: committee presenters said the district "has reached tentative agreements with both the directors association and the food services union," and that both groups plan internal votes before the contracts are brought to the full board for approval. Staff also said Human Resources had not yet received demands to bargain from the NCBAA or the DWEA. - New HR manager and leadership change: the committee welcomed Steven Johnson as the district's new human resources manager. At the same time, the committee noted the departure of Executive Director Teresa Severance, who is leaving for another position; the district has posted the Director of Human Resources role and an interim director is overseeing the department during the search. - Job descriptions and payroll specialist: staff said many clerical job descriptions were revised to be more position-specific and that most had been finalized. The packet includes a new payroll specialist job description highlighted by staff; that role will focus on complexities such as paid family medical leave (PFML) and earned sick and safe time under new state rules. - Union consultation: staff described meetings and negotiations with union representatives on several of the revised descriptions. Executive Director Severance and district staff reported working with Heather Davis of the AFSCME council and input from affected workers and supervisors; the committee was told that the food service and clerical descriptions in the packet reflect those consultations and have been approved by the union representatives involved.
Committee members asked questions about the large number of open positions in the district and the plan to fill them; staff said many positions are posted and some roles take longer to fill than others, with particular difficulty in some teaching roles such as a science teacher vacancy at Denfeld.
The committee did not record any formal board votes on contracts or job descriptions at this meeting; staff said approved tentative agreements and finalized descriptions will move to the full board for action as required.
