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Support staff urge Sartell‑St. Stephen board to avoid outsourcing transportation, press for fair pay
Summary
Bus drivers, food‑service and custodial employees told the board they face potential subcontracting of transportation and sharply higher benefits costs, and they asked trustees to pursue options that keep district staff employed and improve wages and healthcare stability.
At the Sartell‑St. Stephen School Board’s November meeting, several district support staff used the public‑comment period to press trustees not to subcontract the district’s transportation services and to seek stronger pay and benefits for long‑time employees.
Jody Heneman, a district bus driver, said transportation staff are worried “the possibility that transportation services could be subcontracted entirely out by the end of the school year.” She urged trustees to “please consider ways to keep our current transportation staff in place,” stressing that existing drivers know students’ routines and safety needs.
Tricia Evenson, who works in high‑school food service, told the board custodial, transportation, nutrition and grounds staff are “struggling under short staffing, fast‑paced and stressful workloads, and pay that just simply isn’t keeping up.” “We are not asking for anything extravagant,” she said. “We’re asking for fair wages that recognize the value we bring to Sartell’s students and families every single day.”
A custodian identified as Kenan said employer health‑insurance costs have become a serious financial burden. “It went from $90 a month to now $320 a month,” he said, describing the 255% increase as money that otherwise covers groceries and gas.
Board members acknowledged the comments and later discussed negotiations and staffing in committee reports and a separate negotiations update. The board did not take a binding vote during the public‑comment period; staffing and collective bargaining remain subject to ongoing negotiating processes. Several trustees said they plan follow‑up work with administration, and the board’s negotiation schedule includes mediation sessions for SEIU‑represented staff that the district reported had been filed by that union.
The meeting record shows no formal decision to outsource transportation during the session; it does record a request from staff for the district to examine route planning and operations before any outsourcing decisions are finalized.
