Grants Pass SD 7 board advances personnel and civil-rights policy updates to first reading

The Grants Pass SD 7 Board of Directors on Tuesday reviewed a set of proposed policy updates from the Oregon School Boards Association and agreed to advance them to a first reading scheduled for Feb. 10, after approving the consent agenda at the meeting’s start.

Board members and staff spent the night walking through an OSBA-recommended revision that renames the district’s nondiscrimination policy to a civil-rights policy and adds more explicit requirements for documenting and tracking civil-rights complaints and staff training. A staff presenter told the board the district recently sent two staff members to civil‑rights and Title IX training and that the drafted policy would require documenting those and future trainings.

Supporters said the changes provide clearer procedures; skeptics warned that new language alone won’t change workplace culture without follow-through. “You can have language, but if you don’t really use it, it’s not part of the culture,” one member said while urging stronger implementation steps. Staff recommended designating the human-resources director as the district civil-rights coordinator in the draft, which prompted a separate discussion about whether that appointment should be the board’s or the superintendent’s responsibility. The board did not change governance structure tonight but asked staff to keep the bracketed OSBA options visible for the first reading.

The board also reviewed a consolidated sick-leave and personal-illness and injury policy (GCBD). Staff proposed keeping the district’s existing accrual practice — one sick day per month for 10‑month employees (10 days a year) and 12 for 12‑month employees — and rejected an OSBA-recommended 91‑day waiting period before newly hired employees could use sick leave. The draft adds Paid Leave Oregon qualifying reasons (domestic violence, sexual assault, bias incidents and stalking) and clarifies how leave is taken: hourly increments for hourly employees and half-day increments for licensed staff to accommodate substitute availability.

On verification, staff proposed that the district may require verification or certification in accordance with law after five consecutive work days of absence, rather than requiring a medical examination paid for by the district. Staff said the district will consult legal counsel to confirm that change aligns with ORS and other legal obligations. Members also debated whether to keep the phrase “up to and including dismissal” in this policy or move disciplinary language to a single umbrella policy; several members favored a single cross-referenced disciplinary policy for consistency.

Separately, board members were briefed on recommended military‑leave changes that increase the unpaid leave threshold from 15 to 21 workdays per training year, a modification staff said came from OSBA model language. Staff indicated the rest of the military‑leave language contained only minor edits.

Staff said they would submit the district’s marked draft back to OSBA for formatting and to schedule the items for first reading. The board gave general thumbs-up direction to proceed but asked staff to verify that the consolidated policy preserves any legal protections the district needs. No final adoptions were recorded at the workshop; the policies were set to return on first reading for formal consideration.

The board approved the meeting’s consent agenda early in the session after a motion from Member Schmidt, seconded by Member Dibdahl; the vote was taken by voice and recorded as passed. The board then moved into the policy-review portion of the meeting.