OJ Roberts board approves teacher pay for mock-trial activity but sends volunteer policy back to committee

The Owen J. Roberts School District Board of School Directors on Nov. 17 approved a memorandum of understanding with the Roberts Education Association to add paid units for staff overseeing a mock-trial extracurricular while removing Policy 917 from tonight’s second-reading vote for further review.

Board members voted to authorize additional units for the mock-trial activity beginning in the 2025–26 school year, a move presented to the board as a formal memorandum of understanding with the teachers’ association. The motion passed by voice vote without a recorded roll call.

The decision came amid sustained public comment from parents and volunteers who said the program had been largely volunteer-run and that recent changes delayed student participation in competitions. During the public-comment period, resident Heather Mccuri said the club originally relied on volunteers and questioned whether the activity met during flex time — which she said would mean teachers are already compensated for that period — or after school. “If they’re meeting during the day, they’re already being compensated in their pay…that’s double dipping,” she said, urging the board to clarify when the activity meets and to publish a job description for any paid assignment.

Board members debated the broader issue of volunteer roles and staff compensation when they considered three policies on second reading (Policies 101, 117 and 917). Policy 917, governing parents as coaches, advisers and volunteers, drew particular concern from members and parents over whether revisions had been adequately circulated to staff and over potential unintended consequences for students. Miss Munson moved to remove Policy 917 from the consent for second reading and to send it back to the Legislative & Policy committee for additional work; the motion was seconded and approved.

After the board removed Policy 917 from the second-reading vote, it approved Policies 101 (mission, vision and values) and 117 (homebound instruction) on second reading. Superintendent and staff described the policy-development process as public and transparent but acknowledged that staff had provided feedback only after the policy reached the later stages of review.

The board’s action leaves the mock-trial compensation agreement in place for the 2025–26 school year while Policy 917 will undergo further committee-level revision and additional readings. Members directed that the policy return to the committee and discussed scheduling it for January work sessions and subsequent public readings.

Next steps: Policy 917 will be returned to the Legislative & Policy committee for review; the board indicated a working-session discussion in January and that any formal change will require subsequent readings before adoption.