Board approves revised lead painter job description after in-person employee appeal

Trustees voted unanimously to approve a revised lead painter job description on Oct. 30, moving to re-create a position the district has not filled for some time and to stop one employee from performing doubled duties.

Lewis Oliver, who identified himself at the podium as the district’s lead maintenance electrician and lead painter since 2011, asked the board to withhold approval until his claim for reclassification and fair compensation for more than a decade of additional duties is resolved. Oliver said his reclassification request had been denied by human resources without justification and that he had been doing both roles since 2011.

Staff explained the proposed action: the district intends to split duties that had been performed by one person into two positions — lead electrician and lead painter — and to post the painter role based on a revised job description. District staff said the job description had been updated (some language dated to 1997), reviewed with management, and shared with the relevant union for input.

Trustees asked whether approving the job description would affect historical compensation claims. Staff said the approval would allow the district to post and recruit for the painter job but would not retroactively resolve prior-pay issues; they committed to follow up with the employee and union representatives to explore reconciliation options and to provide further information on any fiscal impacts. One trustee said the board should approve the job description and direct staff to investigate the employee’s compensation concerns; another urged caution until more details could be provided.

The board then moved and approved the revised job description by roll call, motion carried 5–0. The board asked staff to pursue follow-up with the speaker, the union and human resources to address unresolved historical compensation questions.