PUSD Employees to Make Initial Contract Offer to District

The Poway Unified School District Board has scheduled a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday to receive an initial contract offer from the union representing non-teaching employees. The union's last contract expired June 30.

The meeting will be held at the district office, 15250 Avenue of Science in San Diego.

The Poway School Employees Association has been operating under the terms of an expired contract with the former union—the Classified School Employees Association—since it took over as the exclusive representative of classified employees, such as office workers, in September.

In November, the district made its which included an eight-day work-year reduction to save money and match agreements with other employee groups. But by the beginning of March, the union had not accepted the offer or countered with its own, so the PUSD Board voted to cut the eight days. District officials said the expired, but in-effect, contract allowed them to make the cut without union approval. Union officials disagreed and threatened legal action.

In its contract offer, PSEA proposes a meeting to discuss employee workdays. Once the Board receives the initial offer, the district can begin negotiating with the union.

Other proposals in PSEA's offer:

• A four-day workweek with 10-hour days for summertime classified employees.
• Increased vacation accrual rate during employees' first three service years from 10 to 15 days.
• Change contract language to categorize a reduction in hours as a furlough, not a layoff.
• Eliminate district's right to temporarily contract out work.
• Option to reopen benefits and salary negotiations in the current and two subsequent school years.
• Add two steps to the salary grid beginning July 1, 2013.

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