MINUTES
OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE GOVERNING BOARD
SCOTTSDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 48
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A Special
Meeting of the Governing Board of the Scottsdale Unified School District,
#48, Maricopa County, was called to order at 5:05 PM, at the Scottsdale
School District Education Center Board Room, 3811 North 44th
Street, Phoenix, Arizona. Board Members
in attendance were Barbara A. Newby, President; David Goldstaub, Clerk; and
Shari Avianantos. Thomas C. Carey
arrived at 5:10 PM; and Sandra Zapien-Ferrero arrived at 5:25 PM. Superintendent Barbara F. Erwin, Attorneys
Jack LaSota and James Martin were also present. A quorum was present. Mrs. Avianantos
moved to approve the Agenda. Mr.
Goldstaub seconded the motion. The motion was
approved with a vote of 3 – 0 (Mr. Carey and Mrs. Zapien-Ferrero had not yet
arrived at the meeting). Information/Action
Item IV. A. Board
discussion on further communication between Scottsdale Unified School
District (SUSD) Administration and the Scottsdale Education Association (SEA)
regarding salary issues and fringe benefits.
Discussion
ensued on continuing the Meet and Confer process between SUSD and SEA. Mr. Goldstaub stated for the record he
would not support increasing class size as a way to increase salaries. The Board concurred that communication
between SUSD and SEA is critical and that it is important for both sides to
be flexible in order to reach agreement.
Also discussed was publishing the ground rules agreed upon by SUSD
Administration and the SEA on the District’s website. Mr. Goldstaub
moved that the Board instruct the Administration to continue discussions with
the SEA on salary issues and fringe benefits. Mr. Carey seconded the motion. Although there
was no Public Comment on this Agenda, President Newby invited Scott Barker,
President of the SEA, to address the Board.
Mr. Barker agreed with the Board, the two groups should be meeting and
continuing their communication. Also,
Mr. Barker concurred that the ground rules for the Meet and Confer process
should be published. Mr. Barker
stated he believes that discussion should include items that are tied to
money and also tied to language. Mr.
Jeff Thomas, the representative from the Arizona Education Association (AEA),
was also called to the podium. Mr.
Thomas stated the AEA also supports the Governing Board reopening discussions
with the SEA. Mr. Goldstaub
asked to clarify his motion, stating that his intent on the choice of words
on salary and fringe benefits were not to limit the discussions; he viewed
that as a very, very broad term, encompassing many things. The words of my motion were not to limit
the discussion between the Administration and the SEA team. At 5:25 PM,
Mrs. Zapien-Ferrero arrived at the meeting and requested the motion be read
back to her. President Newby
requested Sondra Como, Board Secretary, read the motion. Mrs. Newby added that there was discussion
after the motion was made regarding the timeline for the discussions. Mr. Jefferies, Associate Superintendent,
stated that two days prior to this Board Meeting, he, along with Kim Cumby,
Scott Barker and Jeff Thomas, met and discussed a joint statement to be
included with the teacher contracts, which were to be mailed on Monday, April
29, 2002. In effect, the statement
said that if the Board makes adjustments down the road, the salary as stated
in the contract at this time, would then be changed. Further discussion ensued on the teacher
contract. Dr. Erwin
clarified that what is needed is a motion from the Board to go back to the
table to talk; also the Administration will not send any contracts out.
Although there was agreement to do so, there seems to be too much confusion
at this point. Dr. Erwin stated the
Administration would rather wait until the decisions were final and send out
one contract. Therefore, Dr. Erwin
stated she would like a decision from the Board on whether to go back to the
table, or not, and nothing else would happen until a decision is brought back
to this Board and the SEA that everybody can hopefully agree to. Mrs.
Zapien-Ferrero agreed, but commented on the fact that there are other
employee groups that have already gone to the table and settled with the
District. She, however, is referring
to the classified employees, who have been cut back drastically. The District has expected more and more
from the classified staff, and yet, they are not being supported. Mrs. Zapien-Ferrero stated that she could
not support anything that the certified gets unless the classified receives
the same. Mr. Barker concurred that
the SEA has the same belief that any monies found from all employees should
be returned to all employees, not just a select group. The motion by
Mr. Goldstaub to reopen discussions with the SEA was approved with a vote of 5 – 0. Action Item V. A. Approval of the reduction in
teacher compensation in the 2001-2002-contract year due to diminished revenue
from the State Classroom Site Fund, as per attached salary
schedule, pursuant to the District’s 2001-2002 teacher contracts, pursuant
to A.R.S. §15-977. President Newby
opened the floor for discussion from Board Members. Discussion ensued on the issue of Proposition 301 Funds and the
amount to be received from the State.
Mr. Goldstaub asked counsel present, James Martin, of the law firm of
Lewis & Roca, why it was necessary for the Board to take action at this
time. Mr. Martin responded, that
pursuant to the language in the contract, the Board shall “reduce pro rata
the total amount of compensation.”
Mr. Martin further stated, “the Board does need to vote that the
reductions being made are equal across the board, the manner in which it is
done, more than whether it must be done.”
Further discussion was had on the language in the contract, and on any
projected funds received from the State.
President Newby
stated a point of clarification, the wording in SUSD’s teacher contract, not
in statute, is the reason the Board has to vote on this issue. Mr. Martin agreed. Mr. Barker
requested he be allowed to address the Board on this issue. Mr. Barker discussed the passing of SB
1232, which will be sent to Governor Hull for her signature. This bill will allow districts to defer
the need to cut pay now and delay it until next year. Further
discussion ensued on whether the teacher contracts should be sent out, with
the above-mentioned joint statement, at this time. Mrs.
Zapien-Ferrero moved to approve the reduction in teacher compensation in the
2001-2002-contract year due to diminished revenue from the State Classrooms
Site Fund, as per attached salary schedule, pursuant to the District’s
2002-2002 teacher contracts, pursuant to A.R.S. §15-977. Mrs. Newby seconded the motion for
discussions purposes only. Discussion
ensued on the language of the contract and on the risks involved with SB
1232. President Newby
called for the vote. The motion
failed with a vote of 1 Yea (Mrs. Zapien-Ferrero), 3 Nays (Mr. Carey, Mrs.
Avianantos, and Mr. Goldstaub), and 1 abstention (Mrs. Newby). Recent
News and Media Coverage/Potential Board Response
President Newby
responded to a recent article in the Arizona Republic by Laurie Roberts
regarding the potential saving of $1 million by cutting Assistant
Principals. Mrs. Newby informed Ms.
Roberts that it is the Principals who have come to the Administration asking
the District not to cut Assistant Principals, that they very important to our
schools. Mrs. Newby invited Ms.
Roberts to attend more of our meetings to hear what is actually said at those
meetings. At 6:50 PM,
Mrs. Zapien-Ferrero moved to adjourn.
Mr. Carey seconded the motion. The motion was
approved with a vote of 5 – 0. Dated this 26th
day of April 2002. The Governing Board of the Scottsdale
Unified School District #48
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Motion #429Approval of
Agenda Motion #430Approval of
Further Discussion Between SUSD and SEA Regarding Salary Issues and Fringe
Benefits Joint Statement Action ItemApproval of
Reduction in Teacher Compensation - Recommendation
as Corrected Motion #431Approval of
Reduction in Teacher Compensation in the 2001-2002 Contract Year Motion Fails Recent News and Media Coverage/Potential Board Response Motion #432 Adjournment |
