Devil in the Details

Should students attend only four days a week in the fall, or continue to be in classrooms for five? That is the million dollar question facing the five school board trustees.

As the board mulls the decision, they must account for other issues, including changing teachers from a daily paid time off schedule to that of an hourly one. The long and complicated process has led some teachers to become frustrated no decision has been made either way.

“I think some of the conversations I’m having [with teachers is] it is kind of a frustration with a need for a decision,” said Matt Bacon, high school history teacher, during a Board of Trustees negotiations committee meeting April 7. “There is a need for a final product. Folks are getting a little frustrated with the process and a lot of this stuff is coming up as options. I feel this frustration myself.”

The trustees do not want to proceed haphazardly, said Mona Amundson, board chair.

“I think every time we’ve met as a board … it seemed at the end of those meetings it was to take information back, find input, explain options, pick an option and I thought that is what we were all doing. Everybody in the whole district was involved in that process. When we take the time to do that, it is going to take time to come to a decision.”

Bacon agreed the process could not be rushed unduly.

“I think that is the reality,” he said. “People are just getting frustrated. Not everybody understands the process and the complexity of it and are wanting it to be done.”

PAID TIME OFF

Under proposed terms, teachers would not have to use a half-a-day of paid time off should they need to attend a doctor’s appointment or leave early due to illness, missing only an hour or two of work. Currently, teachers are charged a half-day under such circumstances. If the new plan is adopted, the teachers would only be charged for the actual hours they use.

While this may be beneficial to teachers in the long run, since they would only be charged the hours they use, the financial implications for the district could compound if substitute teachers are brought in to replace them while absent.

“In two years when the COVID money is gone, and we didn’t run a levy this year, I just see the [financial] picture getting weaker and weaker, and I don’t want to do something short sighted now that could have a lasting affect,” said Trustee Angie Page. “Whether that means paying [substitute teachers] by the hour and being well intentioned about it and making it worth their time to come in and still paying them a half a day when they are only there for two hours, I don’t know if that is the right thing to do.”

Laurie Enebo, who represents the teacher’s union, said if students are only in the classroom Mondays through Thursdays, then substitutes would no longer be required on Fridays. That would likely lead to cost savings as teachers commonly use paid time off on Fridays.

“That is going to come into play when you are talking about the money issue,” Enebo said. “If the personal day, or sick day, is a Friday a [substitute] isn’t required to attend the meetings or do our prep time for us.”

Amundson said substitutes also may not be required should teachers volunteer to cover for other teachers if the latter are only absent for brief periods of time.

“I foresee saving some in subs, because if somebody has an appointment [off campus] at 10 a.m., instead of taking that full morning off where we would have to hire a sub, they would just put in their hour of sick leave and we don’t hire a sub,” she said. “It is covered right now like it is with the flex stuff. I foresee some savings there.”

But such coverage is contingent on fellow teachers volunteering their flex time for others, Page noted.

“I don’t want those little things to become the grain of sand in somebody’s shorts that rubs them the wrong way,” Page said. “To me, this does seem like a little thing, but sometimes it is those little things that eventually rub a spot red and get really big and I don’t want that to happen.”

To prevent such issues from arising, the board needs to continue moving in a cautious manner, Page said.

“I want this to be done correctly and honestly, I feel this is one of those issues that has the potential – if it is not done correctly – to have consequences that we are not seeing. I appreciate the Fridays being a day when subs are in the building [currently] that we won’t need to cover now. I do get concerned about that flex hour that we are talking about.”

The board is slated to take action on the 2021-2022 calendar, deciding if it should include only a four day school week for students, during their regular meeting at 6 p.m. April 14 at the District Board Room, 229 7th Street North.