The Haines Borough school board on Tuesday unanimously approved an “extra duty contract” that would allow the district to pay for head custodian duties without changes to its negotiated labor agreement with staff.
The board in July rejected a proposed amendment to the agreement that would have allowed school workers in non-teaching positions to change job titles without slipping on the pay scale if the new position had a “substantially similar scope of work” as their previous job.
The proposal was aimed at compensating senior custodian Natasha Coleman for extra duties outside her job description, including training other custodians and ordering supplies. The board, however, balked at the change, because members said it hadn’t been included in recent contract talks with classified employees and that it might open a Pandora’s Box of increased pay requests from other employees.
The “extra duty contract” would pay an employee an additional $2 per hour for supervision of custodial staff, walk-throughs, and ordering custodial supplies and materials. The annual contract would cost the district $4,358 per year, and will be offered for two years.
Supporters of the contract, which comes in the form of a memorandum of agreement between the district and the union, said that it would allow the district take up the question of the head custodian position two years from now, under the schedule for renewing the contract.