Superintendent responds to House action on HB 267, vows continued support for Granite Education Association

The district’s superintendent (name not specified) told Granite School District employees Tuesday that the House had recently voted on HB 267, a bill described in the update as one that would remove the ability of government entities to collectively bargain with teacher associations, and pledged continued support for the Granite Education Association and other employee groups.

The superintendent said he and school board members had met with legislators to press opposition to the measure and that he expected the bill had been set up to move early in the session. "My guess is that bill was set to pass, long before the session started," he said, adding that the bill would head to the Senate next and that the district would keep working with legislators "as appropriately."

Why it matters: the superintendent framed the update as an appeal to staff morale and employment conditions. He said sustaining a safe, supportive workplace for employees is essential to serving students and listed compensation, benefits and fair corrective processes as priorities. "It's my intention as your superintendent to provide, a happy, safe, and well, a great environment for learning for all of our students," he said. "And the only way that we can do that is if we have happy, safe, and well taken care of employees."

The superintendent described conversations with legislators and said many teachers have been speaking with lawmakers on their own time. He said the district will "continue to work with the Granite Education Association and all of our employee groups, to the benefit of our employees," and emphasized ongoing outreach: "I do a lot of these kind of things and teacher solution sessions and in other employee town halls. I do those things because I care about what you think, and I wanna make sure this is an amazing place to work."

The update did not specify the outcome of the House vote on HB 267 beyond stating that the House had voted on the bill. The superintendent characterized the bill's sponsorship and timing as politically arranged to move early in the session and said the district would continue legislative engagement as the proposal moved through the process.

He closed by reiterating appreciation for staff and a commitment to continue advocacy and internal efforts to support employees: "So thank you for all that you do," he said.