Committee approves moving social workers to teacher‑style contracts, with grandfathering for legacy staff

A staff member told the committee that social workers in the district had asked to move from administrative‑support contracts to teacher‑style contracts and that the district appears to be an outlier in Dane County for keeping social workers on admin‑support contracts.

Staff described three main differences between the contract types: teacher contracts are typically one‑year renewals on the teacher salary schedule with progression points tied to experience and professional development; administrative‑support contracts are generally two‑year terms, include tuition reimbursement and have a different approach to annual increases. Staff said social workers would retain vested HRA contributions and accumulated sick leave on transition but would start with zero progression points under the teacher model.

Staff reported that 6 of the 7 social workers asked voted in favor of the change; two employees were not included in the vote because they hold legacy contracts. Committee discussion addressed grandfathering and transition timing, with members proposing that current contract holders be allowed to remain under existing terms and be offered the teacher contract when their legacy agreement expires or if they choose to sign the teacher contract earlier.

A committee member moved to accept the request to move social workers to teacher‑style contracts while allowing current contract holders to remain until they choose to switch; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Staff said the committee will forward the recommendation to the full board for consideration in April.