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Ogden board approves employee agreements with 0.5% COLA, ESP bonus and new paid parental leave
Summary
The Ogden City School District board approved employee contracts that include a 0.5% cost-of-living adjustment, prorated one-time bonuses for education support professionals, an educator salary adjustment for licensed staff and a new paid parental/postpartum recovery leave, the district said.
The Ogden City School District Board of Education voted to approve employee agreements that set salary increases, benefits changes and new leave provisions for district workers.
District staff presented the agreements and the board approved them in a voice vote after a motion was made by Board Member Allred and seconded by Board Member Brunell. The vote passed with members answering “Aye.”
District negotiators said the agreements include a 0.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) plus a one-level or step increase for employees across bargaining groups. Education support professionals (ESPs) will also receive a prorated one-time bonus of $1,000 for full-time employees (reduced for part-time staff) paid in mid-December, the district said. Licensed educators will receive an educator salary adjustment described in the presentation as $1,446, and administrators will receive a matching amount for the same adjustment.
"We are pleased to announce that the salary increases this year are even a little bit higher than the salary increases last year," Jessica Bennington told the board during the presentation. Bennington also said the district expects only a 2% increase in insurance costs for the coming year; that increase will be split evenly between the district and employees.
The agreements also add new paid parental and postpartum recovery leave. "Starting July 1, we will have paid parental and postpartum recovery leave. Those are 3 weeks paid leave for each of those areas," Bennington said. District staff said more guidance will be provided to employees on how to request and use that leave.
Board members and district staff described several other items included in the negotiated package: added flexibility in paid time off for some ESPs, memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that have successfully piloted workplace changes and are being folded into procedural manuals, and matching district-level payments for the ESP bonuses and the ESA adjustment.
The board offered no roll-call tally in the meeting record beyond the motion, the second and the voice vote recorded as "Aye." The presentation and vote were framed as final approval of the agreements; staff said summaries will be circulated to employee groups after the meeting.
Implementation: staff said the ESP one-time bonuses will be paid in mid-December and that details on accessing the new parental/postpartum leave will be published to employees. The contracts contain a mix of ongoing and one-time elements; the district noted some increases (insurance) are shared costs.
Votes at a glance - Motion: Approve employee agreements (salary/benefit adjustments across employee groups). Mover: Board Member Allred. Second: Board Member Brunell. Outcome: Approved (voice vote recorded as "Aye").
Context: The board considered these agreements after the legislature enacted changes referenced during the meeting that affected bargaining (presenters referenced House Bill 267). District leaders said the negotiated package attempts to balance salary and benefit increases with the district's budget constraints.
The board also approved the meeting consent calendar earlier in the session and later moved into a short closed session by separate motion.
