August 2003

VOL. 14 NO. 1

After five months of negotiations, the District and CCASA reached a tentative agreement on August 18, 2003. Approximately 125 members attended the CCASA ratification meeting held at Desert Pines High School on Wednesday, August 27, 2003, with 95% of those voting in favor of the Agreement. The Board of School Trustees approved the Agreement on Thursday, August 28, 2003, at their regular meeting.

The index of changes made to the Agreement was distributed to members attending the ratification meeting on August 27. The Agreement for 2003-2007 will be posted on the CCASA web site as soon as possible. The web site address is www.CCASA.net.

While many amendments were made to the 2003-2007 CCASA Agreement, two changes were significant. First, after two years of work by a joint CCASA / CCSD committee, administrative reclassification was approved and included in the Agreement. Second, a new category of employees defined as professional-technical employees was created and will be represented by CCASA. The addition of professional-technical employees will require changes to the CCASA Constitution. These changes are outlined in this edition of the Unifier.

A big “Thank You” is extended to each of the members of the CCASA negotiating team. The CCASA team, consisting of Jerry Boles, Mark Coleman, Dusty Dickens, Ken Fowler, David Harcourt, Ron Montoya, Jessie Phee, Allin Chandler and Stephen Augspurger, is to be complimented for its many hours of dedicated work. Linda Kemp and Mike Kinnaird, both of whom retired this past summer, were also members of this year’s negotiating team. A "Thank You" is also extended to all administrators who attended the August 27 ratification meeting.

An important goal of the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees is to negotiate an outstanding comprehensive health insurance plan for active and retired administrators. Stephen and Allin are currently negotiating with various dental and life insurance providers to replace the existing plans which expire on January 1, 2004.

CCASA’s goal is to fully cover the cost of insurance for the active employee and to provide maximum benefits for the lowest possible cost for dependents and retirees. There are a number of influences, however, which continue to cause health insurance premiums to escalate. These influences include rising hospital costs, medical malpractice insurance and escalating pharmacy expenses. Member utilization also plays a significant role when negotiating new health care premiums.

Because each of these influences has shaped premium increases over the past three years, the CCASA staff is in the initial stages of putting together a comprehensive administrator health insurance survey which will seek member input regarding all aspects of the health insurance plan. CCASA’s goal is to ensure that the health plan and medical benefits package that is offered will meet the needs of all administrators now and in the future. It is anticipated that the survey will be distributed to members in late October or early November. This information will be utilized by the CCASA Health Insurance Committee and by the CCASA Representative Council to make decisions related to the negotiation of a new medical benefits contract. The current medical benefits contract with Sierra Health will expire on January 1, 2005..

For the past two years, CCASA and District representatives have been working to establish an administrative reclassification procedure. This process began in August 2001 when Superintendent Garcia agreed to establish a CCASA / CCSD Administrative Reclassification Committee. This Reclassification Committee was established at CCASA’s request and in response to CCASA’s concerns expressed to the Board and Superintendent Garcia regarding the lack of criteria for the creation of new administrative positions, the reclassification of existing administrative positions, and the reclassification of support staff positions to administrative positions.

As you may remember, two years ago the District conducted a series of reorganizations which resulted in a number of administrative employees being reclassified to higher ranges and/or longer contracts. At that time, CCASA addressed the Board to express its support for administrative reclassification which resulted in administrators being more fairly compensated for their responsibilities. However, while CCASA expressed support for administrative reclassification, CCASA also expressed concern to the Board that the District procedure was arbitrary, inconsistently applied, created inequities, and in many circumstances, was simply unfair. Superintendent Garcia agreed with CCASA that there must be an objective criteria to ensure fairness and equity across the District and agreed with the establishment of the CCASA / CCSD Administrative Reclassification Committee.

The goal of the Reclassification Committee was twofold: (1) to establish a classification and reclassification process that creates equity and fairness; and (2) to apply the classification criteria to ensure that each administrative position is appropriately compensated. William Ewing, of Ewing and Associates, a nationally recognized expert in the area of employee classification and compensation, was hired to work with the Reclassification Committee in the development of a procedure which would accomplish these two goals.

Every administrative position at Range 44 and below with the exception of the region assistant superintendents was reviewed and analyzed by the Reclassification Committee. Separate and distinct classification systems were established for school based and non-school based positions. Each classification system was developed to compensate administrators based on the complexity of their positions. For school based positions, only the principal position was reclassified using the identified factors. These factors include staff size, number of special education units, year-round status, percentage of ELL students, percentage of at-risk students, activities, athletics, magnet school within a school, number of buses, number of administrators, and rural locations. The classification system for non-school based administrators utilizes complexity factors which include knowledge required to do the job, complexity of the job, impact of decisions, number of personnel supervised, and the scope and purpose of internal and external contacts.

As the result of administrative reclassification, the following was accomplished:

1. An objective procedure was memorialized in Article 20 of the Negotiated Agreement between the District and CCASA which establishes the reclassification procedure and details the implementation of the procedure;

2. Salary range enhancements will benefit 862 of 968 administrators and result in a minimum of an additional full step move on the salary schedule (5%) during the first two years of the Negotiated Agreement;

3. Contract language will protect administrators from District initiated salary range reductions during the initial placement, as well as, in the future; and

4. Payment of a 2% stipend for 2003-2004 and a 4% stipend for 2004-2005 to every administrator who does not benefit from reclassification. Stipend payments over the next two years will result in each of these administrators receiving an amount of money equivalent to putting 2% on the salary schedule in each year of the biennium. Stipend payments will be made on or about November 21, 2003, and will be PERS sensitive for administrators who are in the 26th year of service and beyond.

On or about September 24, 2003, each administrator will receive a personalized letter from the Human Resources Division which will detail his or her title, salary range, and placement on the 2003-2004 salary schedule. Administrators not benefiting from reclassification will also be notified of the stipend payment. Additionally, a listing of scheduled general membership meetings will be included where administrators can seek additional information from District and CCASA representatives. The general membership meetings have tentatively been scheduled for September 30, and October 1, 2, 7, and 8. Four meetings will be held for school based administrators and two meetings will be held for non-school based administrators. Specific times and locations will be included in the District mailer on or about the 24th of September. It is important to note that the September 24 notification date is an approximate date and is subject to District staff being able to complete the necessary activities by that time. It is anticipated that salary changes will be effective on the October 10 pay date, but not later than the October 25 pay date. Salary increases will be retroactive to the first day of the contract for each administrator.

CCASA Reclassification Committee members included Mark Coleman, Sue DeFrancesco, Ken Fowler, David Harcourt, Bill Miller, Paul Oisboid, Betty Roqueni, Fred Smith, Allin Chandler, and Stephen Augspurger. District representatives included George Ann Rice, Walt Rulffes, Richard Ennes, Edward Goldman, Hilary Engel, Shirley Sandoval, and Linda Thompson. Committee members are deserving of a big “Thank You” for the hundreds of hours they devoted to developing an administrative reclassification procedure which is fair, equitable, and establishes compensation that is based on the complexities of the positions.

On August 7, 2003, the CCASA Representative Council held its regular monthly meeting. The major items discussed during the meeting included the following:

1. The revenue, expenditures, and balances within the CCASA Association and Trust Fund Accounts;

2. CCASA election results;

3. President Jerry Boles announced that volunteers are being sought for a number of CCASA committees, as well as, CCASA appointments to school district committees;

4. A review of CCASA / CCSD contract negotiations and areas where tentative agreement had been reached. The status of reclassification, professional-technical employees, and dental and life insurance renewals were outlined. Authorization was provided by the Representative Council to continue discussing various funding scenarios for administrative reclassification. Additional negotiation sessions to finalize all issues related to money were discussed;

5. An overview of the Amicus brief, filed jointly with CCASA / NASA / WCEAA was provided. Total cost for the brief was $8,700 which will be shared by the three organizations;

6. The status of a lawsuit filed by a former CCASA member against CCASA. CCASA was recently awarded attorneys’ costs and fees in excess of $30,000. This money will go to the insurance company to offset its costs associated with the defense of this case;

7. The purpose of the Administrators’ Advisory Council. Meetings will be scheduled with the superintendent during October, December, February, and April;

8. The status of the CCASA Officers’ and Directors’ Liability Insurance;

9. Resolutions which authorize the CCASA President (Jerry Boles), CCASA Treasurer (Bart Mangino), CCASA Past President (Mark Coleman), CCASA staff (Allin Chandler and Stephen Augspurger) to transact business for the CCASA Association and Trust Fund accounts were approved;

10. The new presidents of the Clark County Association of Elementary School Principals (Sue Steaffens), and the Clark County Association of Secondary School Principals (Linda Archambault) provided an overview of activities for their respective associations; and

11. A review of the various CCASA activities and the types of assistance provided to CCASA members.

By way of reminder, included in the July Unifier was an overview of the purpose and function of the School Alliance Political Action Committee (SAPAC). SAPAC provides the means for administrators statewide to influence the political process by endorsing and financially supporting political candidates. It is critical that political action funds are available prior to the start of the next legislative session. A payroll deduction authorization form was included in the July newsletter for administrators wishing to regularly contribute to SAPAC. CCASA again urges your participation in SAPAC. If you need a contribution form, please contact the CCASA office at 796-9602.

An unmarried child who is under the age of 27 and enrolled in an accredited school is eligible to receive health benefits as a dependent on the CCASA / CCSD Health Insurance Plan. Students must be enrolled in 6 credit hours and must submit, annually, a letter from the registrar’s office verifying that the student is enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours. Verification from the registrar’s office must be sent to Nick Venturini in the Employee Benefits Office in the Education Center by the end of September 2003 to continue health benefits for the 2003-2004 school year.

Jerry Boles, CCASA President, is seeking volunteers to serve on various CCASA and CCSD committees. If you are interested in serving on a CCASA committee or as a CCASA appointment to a CCSD committee, please call the CCASA office at 796-9602 or Jerry Boles at 799-7260.