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Board hires food-service director, approves tentative 3.5% teacher wage agreement amid nepotism concern
Summary
The board approved the recommendation to hire Rachel Bar as food-service director, confirmed a student and staff-inclusive search process, and approved a tentative 3.5% wage agreement with the REA; a board member raised concerns about the appearance of nepotism during the food-service hire discussion and administrators responded that family members were excluded from the hiring process.
The Rockford board voted to approve the administration's recommendation to hire Rachel Bar as the district's director of food service; Bar's official start date is July 1.
Administrators described a multi-step search that included profile-generation conversations with food-service staff and the district's ISAC (inner-school advisory council), multiple interview rounds, and a student representative on the interview team. Superintendent and hiring leaders said the committee reached the recommendation by consensus. During discussion a board member raised concerns about the appearance of nepotism because of familial relationships within the district; administrators said the relative was not involved in the hiring process and emphasized committee-based vetting and multiple independent interview rounds.
In separate business the board approved a tentative bargaining agreement with the REA that provides a 3.5% wage increase for the coming year and includes a conditional "circuit breaker" clause that could reopen negotiations only if specified favorable budget conditions materialize. Administration said the tentative agreement would raise the starting teacher salary to approximately $52,268 under the district's modeling and move Rockford toward its goal of placing in the top third of neighboring districts for teacher compensation.
The actions were approved by roll call. Trustees and labor representatives thanked each other for collaborative negotiations and noted the tentative agreement remains subject to final ratification steps by the association where required.
