*Please be aware that many decisions about a future district will be made by school board members who are not yet elected. These are ideas that have been proposed by ASD Board Member Julie King that could be instituted by a future board. The most important thing you can do to make sure employees continue to be taken care of is to properly vet school board candidates-whether a split occurs or not.
Q: Is my job secure?
A: The short answer is yes. You cannot be fired just because a district is splitting-it is literally against the law. Regardless of how big a district is we still need teachers and aides and bus drivers and nutrition workers and custodians. That will not change. Provisional employees are not guaranteed employment, but they are not guaranteed employment in ASD currently-they have to essentially be rehired every year. What may change is many of the jobs at the district level-a job at the current district office may look like some responsibilities of jobs for 3 people since it would be unnecessary to replicate those positions since job responsibilities would shrink.
Q: Will salaries and benefits stay the same?
A: If a split is on the ballot this year and passes, and a special election is called next year (this is the fastest timeline option), new districts would start operating and being in charge of the education of students on July 1, 2027. Salaries and compensation are guaranteed to stay the same for one year after that. So, we are at least 4 years out from anything being different. Salaries and compensation are something that are determined by a future school board. But every district is going to want to retain and recruit the best teachers. That dynamic has created salary wars in districts across the state in the past and I can see that being a reality in a split. The most likely scenario is that salaries and compensation will increase as districts compete for talent.
Q: What about my retirement?
A: Retirement is a state dynamic, so retirement would be protected through URS or the Utah Retirement System. There are some things that ASD has that other districts may not. One of those is our retirement benefit where if you have been with the district for 15 consecutive years, you can receive a retirement benefit. This is how the retirement benefit works-your pay when you retire minus what the starting wage is for someone coming into the position on Step 1 Lane 1, you receive that difference times 2. Most employees use that bonus to "buy" additional years in the retirement system. Will that benefit disappear? That is a decision for future school boards to make, but I would hope the focus would be on honoring those retirement benefits for our employees. My personal plan is to make sure we maintain this benefit.
Q: Where would I work in a split?
A: For those whose employment is linked to a specific location, they would stay in the district where that location is. So, if you work at Thunder Ridge and that school becomes a part of a west side district, you would continue to work at Thunder Ridge and be a part of the new district. For those whose job is not at a specific location, each district would have open positions and fill those from the employee pool.
Q: What if I want to transfer? How will that work in a split?
A: Many employees have expressed to me that in a split, they would want to transfer-often to make sure they are teaching and working in the same district as their children to make sure they are on the same calendar and schedule. Our superintendent has answered this question that staff would seek to honor those requests as much as possible while also being intentional about not creating a drain so that one area is left without the talent and support and experience needed to provide the best education for students. We want to make sure that every student and every community has strong supports and options. Once a split is finished, employees could seek employment in another district when open positions are posted.
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