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Food-service staff press board for payout of banked "PB" days; parents raise concerns about meeting-recording rules
Summary
Former and current food-service employees asked the Elkhart board to pay out banked PB days after a transition to Chartwells and urged faster, transparent responses to records requests; a parent also urged changes to digital-recording rules in district policies.
Three public commentators told the Elkhart board on Aug. 12 that they wanted clarity and action on unpaid banked personal/business (PB) days following the district—s food-service transition to Chartwells and on proposed rules for recording district meetings.
Diana Khary (identified in the meeting as a former food-service employee) said she filed a records request on June 30 for the "total amount of banked PB days for the employees" but had not received a response. "I was simply requesting the total amount of banked PB days for the employees," Khary said. She told the board her conversations led her to believe "there is approximately only 3 to 4 employees who are not going with Chartwell[s] that are owed bank PB days" and that the highest number she encountered for a single employee was 14 days. Khary said the disputed payout amounted to about "$5 to $8,000." She asked the board to pay those employees consistent with the payout received by employees who moved to Chartwells.
Angela Schwarm, who said she also worked in food service and assisted with staff outreach during the transition, told trustees she believed the records and lists requested by workers existed and could be assembled. "I 100% could get that information if that is a part of the hang up," Schwarm said, adding that she and Khary had emailed the board and were seeking an equitable resolution.
Earlier in the public-comment period, Angela Whitlow raised concerns about the policy updates the board was considering, asking the trustees to slow approval and fix grammatical and numbering errors. Whitlow also criticized a draft policy on audio, video and digital recordings of meetings that would require parents to give two days' notice to record and allow the superintendent one day to reply. "I like that you guys are giving the parents the opportunity to record," Whitlow said, "I don't like the time restraints, the 2 days in advance for parents to give a notice...That seems a little rushed." She urged clearer procedures around district recording and whether parents can opt out of district recordings.
No formal board action on PB payouts or the recording policy occurred during public comment; board members acknowledged the comments and asked staff to consider the points raised. The payroll and human-resources offices were discussed specifically as the places where banked-day balances would be maintained and reconciled.
Sources: Public comments at the Aug. 12 Elkhart Community Schools board meeting.
