The Lagunitas School District and its chapter of the California School Employees Association are at an impasse over a secretarial position eliminated over summer as part of the district’s efforts to shore up budget reserves. Last week, the union filed an impasse declaration, triggering the appointment of a mediator by the state’s Public Employment Relations Board to help bring both sides into accord.
In recent months, union reps have refused to allow the district’s non-union administrative assistant, Donna Henderson, to take up responsibilities once handled by Sandy Studdert, a secretary who retired at the end of last school year. Additionally, the union has charged that the district’s decision to leave the position unfilled—though still partially in existence—without a union employee constitutes a layoff rather than attrition.
The district, however, claims that hiring an additional employee for the vacated secretary position would be an unnecessary burden, given the absence of work caused by the termination of the district’s Waldorf program in 2014.
“From the district’s perspective, there wasn’t a layoff,” said Superintendent John Carroll. “There simply was not enough work to justify [adding back the secretary position]. I think we’ve demonstrated that so far this year.”
Despite the gridlock, the union’s chapter president, Howie Cort—who works at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center—expressed hope that bringing in an outside mediator would clarify the legalities surrounding the vacated position.
In a statement sent by Ms. Cort to the Light, she wrote, “Filing this [impasse declaration] is simply part of the process that has long been in place to help those who work in the public employee sector with disputes to reach resolution.”
The issue stems back to last year, when the district formed an ad hoc budget committee to examine how to trim a deficit budget that the Marin County Office of Education deemed insufficient to ensure solvency over the next three years. After six meetings, the committee offered several recommendations, including the removal of property-tax funds from parent programs—whose purposes are decided by parents—and to leave vacant any positions after retirements and resignations. The cuts corrected the district’s deficit spending, which reached $150,000 last year.
During that time, two positions became vacant, including Ms. Studdert’s post at what’s known as the district’s “upper campus”—which encompasses the district’s Open Classroom, library, office spaces and, formerly, the Waldorf program. Ms. Henderson, meanwhile, works at the “lower campus” that includes the middle school, Montessori School and administrative offices. Following Ms. Studdert’s retirement, Ms. Henderson completed a few of the tasks normally done by the upper campus secretary such as taking attendance, Mr. Carroll said.
According to a memo written by Mr. Carroll, union and district bargaining teams met several times since summer to discuss the position. The union ultimately proposed reinstating the position at 18.75 hours a week, but negotiations stalled when the district, which originally offered just 10 hours, declined to go higher than 15.
The district’s business manager, Ana Mendez, estimated that keeping on a part-time secretary position at the union’s desired hours would cost under $27,000 a year.
“We truly hope that CSEA will see that its extraordinary efforts to gain back a unoccupied, unnecessary job run counter to our long held community tradition of collaborative decision making and may have a damaging effect on our capacity to work together through difficult times in the future,” Mr. Carroll’s memo read.
Mr. Carroll’s memo stated also that the union had intended to “immediately file” an unfair labor complaint, though Ms. Cort’s statement countered that the union “did not threaten to file” such a complaint.
The impasse has become a somewhat touchy subject in the close-knit San Geronimo Valley community, since the community center is housed on the same grounds as the school district. Many of the parties involved are good acquaintances. And it’s precisely this familiarity, Ms. Cort believes, that will resolve the disagreement.
“We’re all friends,” she said. “The one thing we want to do is not to make things personal. We’re too small [of a district] to let this become a personal issue. It can’t happen.”