Proposed contract edits would limit short-term temporary fills to six months, update fingerprinting and payroll language

Negotiators reviewed Article 1 and several personnel-policy edits during the Feb. 28 bargaining session, including a proposed requirement that temporary positions filled by current permanent employees must run at least six months to reduce disruption at schools.

A presenter described the temporary-assignment change as intended "to give some stability to the building and the students," and said the requirement would not apply to summer-only temporary hires. The presenter added that, by contract practice, a permanent employee who accepts a temporary assignment retains rights to return to their permanent position.

Other personnel changes presented included updating mileage language to reference IRS rates (removing hard-coded numbers), clarifying that district-purchased uniforms (hard hats, protective wear) remain district property, and removing a paragraph about a district tobacco-use budget that negotiators said had not been used.

The draft also proposes updates to fingerprinting and criminal-history language: rewording employment-status terms (conditional/contingent) while eliminating outdated references, reducing payment options for fingerprinting to two choices, and confirming that the district effectively advances fingerprinting fees to be recovered through payroll processes. The presenter said criminal-history rechecks would be processed every five years under current practice.

Payroll and insurance clean-up edits were discussed to align contract language with the district's payroll schedule (recently adjusted) and to clarify that insurance coverage counts as 12 months regardless of whether certain employees start in July, August or September.

What happens next: negotiators agreed to caucus and exchange written replies; the district and the presenting team said they would circulate revised language and continue scheduling follow-up sessions.