Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Relations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sartell‑St. Stephen staff urge board to avoid transportation outsourcing as union seeks mediation
Summary
Support staff told the board they fear a district plan to contract out transportation and described rising costs and low pay; trustees said negotiations remain active and the teachers’ union has filed for mediation.
Support staff and custodial employees pressed the Sartell‑St. Stephen School Board at its November meeting to protect in‑house transportation and address pay and benefits as contract negotiations proceed.
"The possibility that transportation services could be subcontracted entirely out by the end of the school year," said Jody Heneman, a district bus driver, who described decades of combined service among transportation employees and urged the board to "consider ways to keep our current transportation staff in place." She warned that replacing longtime staff with outside workers could disrupt relationships and student safety.
Tricia Evenson, who works in school food service, told trustees that nutrition, custodial, transportation and grounds staff are "struggling under short staffing, fast‑paced, and stressful workloads, and pay that just simply isn't keeping up," and asked the board for "a contract that lets us do that with dignity and stability." Custodian Kenan said health insurance premiums had risen sharply: "it went up 255% over the last couple of years. It went from $90 a month to now $320 a month." All three asked the district to prioritize retaining experienced support staff.
Board members and administrators responded during committee reports that negotiations with employee groups are ongoing. Board members said talks with the teachers' union (SEA) have covered salary schedule structure and other contract language. The board reported limited movement in recent bargaining sessions and said the union has filed for mediation to resolve remaining differences; the board has scheduled multiple December negotiation dates and anticipates mediation sessions.
At the meeting one board member described mediation filing as a constructive process to work through detailed contract items, and another board member noted the visible presence and support at recent negotiation sessions from SEIU members representing district employees.
What happens next: trustees said negotiations will continue in December and mediation will be scheduled with the union. The public commenters asked the board to consider internal route planning and other operational changes before pursuing any broader outsourcing of transportation services.
