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| Madison Metropolitan School District Madison, Wisconsin Art Rainwater, Superintendent | ||
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| BOARD OF EDUCATION Minutes for Human Resources October 23, 2006 |
Doyle Administration Building 545 West Dayton Street, Auditorium Madison, Wisconsin |
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Human Resources Committee meeting was called to order by Chair Ruth Robarts at 8 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Lawrie Kobza, Ruth Robarts, Shwaw Vang
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Carol Carstensen, Lucy Mathiak, Arlene Silveira
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE PRESENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Bob Nadler, Art Rainwater, Ken Syke, Ann Wilson - Recording Secretary
1. Approval of Minutes
It was moved by Shwaw Vang and seconded by Lawrie Kobza to approve the Human Resources Committee minutes dated September 25, 2006. Motion unanimously carried.
2. Public Appearances
There were no public appearances.
3. Announcements
There were no announcements.
The following item was taken out of order on the agenda.
7. Handling Parent Complaints about Teachers, Principals, or Other Administrators
(Written materials distributed in advance: General Complaint/Concern Process; Policy and Procedures 8012 - Nondiscrimination; Notes on a Meeting Held August 2, 2006; Memorandum from Ruth Robarts re: Parent Complaints about Staff dated 10/23/06 - all attached to the original copy of these minutes.)
FOLLOW-UP:
Ruth Robarts reviewed the information in the memorandum and notes which document a parent meeting with administration regarding a Title IX complaint and the recommendations from administration regarding how such complaints would be handled in the future. Her suggestion to the committee would be to refer the parents' summary of the meeting to the Human Resources Department for review and a report back prior to the November Human Resources Committee meeting. The Human Resources Department should: a) identify any items in the summary with which the administration disagrees and explain the nature of the disagreement; and 2) identify any changes in policies that might be necessary to ensure that sexual harassment complaints are handled in the ways set forth during the meeting. Bob Nadler indicated the Human Resources Department would be happy to do that. Ms. Robarts noted that, depending on the nature of the report, it may or may not be reported in executive session.
Shwaw Vang shared concerns about reports to him by parents who question the relationship of a teacher with their child. He asked whether staff receive training to deal with situations like this. Who can parents go to when they are concerned? Art Rainwater responded that all staff are required to take training in Title IX issues. Parents can make a complaint to any staff person in the district. All staff has the obligation to report. In the case of sexual harassment, the process is very similar to child abuse with mandatory reporting requirements.
5. Report on the Status and Impact of the Increasing Health Insurance Costs that the District Incurs for its Employees
(Written information provided in advance: Copy of PowerPoint Presentation entitled, "Seven Reasons Why the Board of Education and Employee Representatives Should Work Together to Reduce Future Health Insurance Costs" - attached to the original copy of these minutes.)
Ruth Robarts gave a presentation based on the information provided to the Human Resources Committee by Bob Butler on September 25, 2006 about the impact of ever increasing health insurance costs on school districts, employees, and the public.
6. Recommendation to Communicate Information regarding Employee Health Insurance Costs to all District Employees and the Public
Ruth Robarts relinquished the chair to Lawrie Kobza.
It was moved by Ruth Robarts and seconded by Shwaw Vang to recommend to the Board of Education that the Board direct the Administration to communicate information regarding employee health insurance costs to all district employees and the public. The information should illustrate the following points:
a) Health insurance costs for school districts are increasing at higher rates than for the private sector or other government employers in Wisconsin;
b) The percentage of the district's operating budget that goes to health insurance is large and growing rapidly;
c) Spending more and more on health insurance means that the district must go to strategies such as cutting positions, not replacing staff who retire, increasing class sizes, and creating positions that do not qualify for health insurance in order to balance budgets;
d) Health insurance costs are drastically reducing dollars that can go for paying competitive wages;
e) Health insurance costs are also drastically reducing post-retirement benefits for our employees;
f) Changes in providers and plans can significantly affect future costs; and
g) Some Wisconsindistricts have reduced future health insurance costs by working with employee representatives to make changes in plan design, providers, wellness programs and other aspects that reduce future costs.
Ruth Robarts resumed the chair.
Lawrie Kobza requested that item c) be deleted. She felt the statement was not accurate because any savings on health insurance would be diverted to salaries. Ruth Robarts stated she shared that concern and would accept it as a friendly amendment.
Lawrie Kobza requested that the word "drastically" be deleted from items d) and e). Ruth Robarts agreed and accepted this as a friendly amendment.
Lawrie Kobza asked Ruth Robarts what action she would anticipate the administration could take in response to this directive. Ruth Robarts responded that, if approved by the Board of Education, administration and Legal Counsel, including Bob Butler, would provide information about a legal and effective way of providing this health insurance cost information to employees and the community. She expected some of that information to be provided in executive session. Mr. Butler had suggested previously that it would be legal and acceptable to provide information and an example was including a flyer with payroll checks.
Lawrie Kobza offered a friendly amendment that the first sentence of the motion be changed to: "The Human Resources Committee recommends that the Board of Education direct the Administration to provide recommendations about how the Administration could communicate information regarding employee health insurance costs to all district employees and the public." Ruth Robarts accepted the motion as friendly.
Mr. Vang noted his agreement with the friendly amendments but that he is concerned that this is a matter that should be discussed by the full Board of Education and that some of it is more appropriately discussed in executive session. Committee members and Legal Counsel Clarence Sherrod agreed that some of it may be appropriate to discuss in executive session and the Administration would identify those parts. Mr. Butler had suggested that districts across the state may be interested in communicating this information.
The motion, as amended, carried 2-1 with Shwaw Vang voting no.
Ruth Robarts relinquished the chair to Lawrie Kobza.
6. Recommendations from the Administration regarding a Joint Health Task Force
It was moved by Ruth Robarts and seconded by Shwaw Vang that the Board of Education seek recommendations from the administration on the following topics:
a) forming a Joint Health Task Force with employee representatives whose meetings and records will be subject to WisconsinOpen Records and Open Meetings laws;
b) hiring an independent insurance consultant at the district's expense to work with the Joint Task Force;
c) exploring changes in plan designs and providers, wellness programs and other options that could slow the growth in future costs.
Ruth Robarts withdrew the motion pending the outcome of discussion of the previous motion.
Ruth Robarts resumed the chair.
8. Other Business
There was no other business.
9. Adjournment
It was moved by Shwaw Vang and seconded by Lawrie Kobza to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. Motion unanimously carried.
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