Board approves per-diem hire for elementary counselor with conditional license

District staff told the board that an opening for an elementary counselor existed and that a candidate had completed her program and obtained a conditional license effective in February. Staff proposed paying the candidate at a per-diem rate for the remainder of the open portion of the contract so she could begin serving students immediately.

“This allows her to come on staff, build relationships with students and families, start to understand how we do work in business,” the staff member said, describing the per-diem arrangement as a win-win.

A committee member moved to approve the proposal; the Chair seconded. During roll call, members called by name (Bergstrom, Taylor, Merritt, Thompson, Van Sickle) registered approval in the transcript. The motion passed on the recorded roll-call responses in the meeting.

What the action covers: the hire uses a conditional license already granted to the candidate (effective in February) and applies a per-diem pay arrangement for the portion of the contract currently open; further contract details and start date beyond what was described were not specified in the transcript.