Board reviews redlined administrator handbook and phased pay-schedule proposal

Board members reviewed a redlined draft of the administrator handbook and a companion exempt/confidential handbook that would retitle many back-office positions and place them on a phased, tiered pay schedule.

Staff said the redline updates streamline job descriptions, remove references to a consortium the district no longer uses, and create clearer step-placement guidelines for administrators. On equipment and communications, staff proposed replacing district-paid phones with a monthly stipend for administrators expected to be available after hours. Staff noted a $30-a-month stipend as a lower-end, researched estimate designed to reduce costs and the burden of employees carrying two devices.

The exempt/confidential handbook proposal would retitle many positions to "specialist," place roles into tiers based on skills and market comparators, and phase-market adjustments over multiple years instead of a single, disruptive one-time pay increase. Staff emphasized the approach is intended to be sustainable, cite difficulty recruiting for some specialist roles, and make later shared-services pricing easier to calculate.

Board members asked for fiscal impact estimates; staff said they had not completed full costing the night before and promised to deliver numbers to the board before final approval. Members also discussed guardrails: the board will approve step placements and can phase increases based on revenue availability, freezes, or ballot timing.

The meeting did not adopt formal changes; staff will return with detailed cost estimates and proposed implementation timelines.