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Adams 12 HR tells finance committee hiring follows statutory protections as district struggles to fill special education and transportation roles
Summary
Tim Griffin, Adams 12 chief human resource officer, told the Finance and Audit Committee that certified teachers gain nonprobationary status after three years under TECTA and described hiring protocols; HR and committee members flagged vacancies in paraprofessionals and transportation and noted pay competitiveness tied to a proposed mill levy.
At its Oct. 23 Finance and Audit Committee meeting, Adams 12 Five Star Schools’ chief human resource officer, Tim Griffin, reviewed the district’s hiring policies, statutory protections for teachers and continuing shortages for certain employee groups.
Griffin said the district interprets the superintendent’s monitoring report and board policies to prohibit any promise of permanent or guaranteed employment and described separate practices for administrators, classified staff and certified teachers. He told the committee that certified teachers earn nonprobationary status after three years of successful service and that the Colorado Teacher Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act (TECTA) limits dismissal of nonprobationary teachers to statutory grounds.
Why it matters: staffing levels and pay affect day-to-day operations, classroom coverage and special programs. Committee members and HR officials connected recruitment and retention challenges to marketplace pay and to a proposed mill-levy override intended to improve competitiveness.
Griffin said administrative contracts run on a July 1–June 30 cycle and are renewed annually. On dismissal standards for nonprobationary teachers he summarized TECTA’s approach, saying it enumerates grounds such as inappropriate conduct with students, neglect or theft. He emphasized that the district follows its master agreements and internal protocols for hiring, discipline and reductions in force.
Darren Everett, HR operations director, described the district’s operational hiring steps: job postings are published on the district website and positions require multiple department approvals (HR, finance and funding manager) before posting. Posting windows cited by HR staff were a minimum of four days for classified positions, three to five days for certified positions depending on season, and 10 days (or open-until-filled) for administrative vacancies. Hiring managers screen applicants at the building or department level; HR verifies qualifications, state certifications and licenses before issuing recommendations to hire.
On vacancies, Griffin said paraprofessional roles supporting special education are especially hard to fill and retain; HR reported 18 current vacancies in those paraprofessional positions, five of them in Title schools. He also said transportation staff — drivers and driver aides — remain in high vacancy, and before- and after-school program staffing is frequently undersupplied. For certified special education teachers, Griffin said shortages reflect fewer graduates entering special education programs and movement of some staff to other districts for higher pay.
Committee members asked about visa-sponsored hires and diversity programs. Griffin said the district has not pursued H-1B or similar visa hiring at scale and had not received formal criticism of its inclusion programs; he said the district continues to support inclusive policies and training.
On compensation, Darren Everett and a committee member summarized recent salary-schedule history: Adams 12 previously restructured pay scales and at one point ranked near the top for starting salaries, but the district has fallen behind peers as other districts invested more in schedules. HR said reclassifications and market adjustments are currently on pause pending levy results; the special education coordinator and some school leadership positions received targeted calendar or internal equity adjustments this year.
Aaron (committee chair) and HR staff clarified oversight: personnel actions (resignations, terminations, transfers, hires and leaves) are reported to the full school board on the consent agenda, and board approval is a final check on employment offers.
The committee did not take formal action on hiring policy at the meeting; HR staff said they would follow up with any requested materials and additional detail.
Ending: Committee members thanked HR for the overview and indicated they would return to the topics of market competitiveness and specific reclassifications as the district finalizes levy- and budget-related decisions.
