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Board seeks details on open aide positions and wage concerns ahead of final budget
Summary
Trustees requested a count and classification of vacant aide/support staff positions and current starting wages to assess whether contract changes or targeted raises are needed; administration said it will provide a list and recommended next steps by June.
Board members raised concerns about support-staff vacancies — particularly classroom aides for kindergarten — and whether current wages make recruiting difficult. The board asked administration to provide a written list of open aide positions, how long each has been vacant, and the current starting wage for those classifications so the board can decide whether to pursue contract negotiations or other changes.
Administration told trustees that Ariel (HR or personnel staff) maintains a list of open positions and that the district currently has several aide vacancies. One board member said there are "eight positions that are not special ed" open (number provided in discussion); administration agreed to provide the board with a precise count and job classifications. Trustees noted the support-staff collective-bargaining agreement complicates targeted pay increases for a single classification and that opening contract negotiations could be a larger undertaking; several members said they did not want to re-open the entire support-staff contract without first getting more information about vacancy scope and wage levels.
The board requested a follow-up email with the number of vacant aide positions, vacancy durations, current starting wages for each classification and an estimate of fiscal impact if targeted raises were offered. Trustees asked that administration prepare that information before the June final budget adoption so the board can consider whether to include changes in the final budget.
No formal vote was taken on wage changes; trustees agreed to gather data and reconvene the discussion after reviewing the information.
