By L. Parsons The Winslow Unified School District Governing Board met last week and approved a contract with Unity Consulting, LLC to provide services for the district as the Human Resources Director. The motion passed unanimously, with board member Mariliee Ervien appearing telephonically. Superintendent Kathryn Zanin said, “The purpose of the HR director is to help create systems, procedures and trainings in support of all employees. To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the district.” Stephanie Lugo, a Winslow resident, spoke during the call to the public and expressed concerns regarding public information requests she had made to the district regarding the contract that had not been met. She explained, “This item states the recommendation for the governing board to enter in to the contract with Unity Consulting, LLC. On Aug. 19, I sent an email to board president (Sharon) Greenwood and Superintendent Zanin regarding the board meeting held that evening. I brought to their attention that the board did not vote on the item. I received a response from Zanin explaining that the board did not need to vote on the item.” She then explained that as she requested the contract details, request for quote details and other public documents including qualifications of the firm to perform human resources duties. “I was given a blank RFP (request for proposal) and minutes from the July 8 board meeting. I had an appointment with Mrs, Zanin on Monday, Sept. 14, at 10 a.m. to review the documents. I was told I could not record the conversation, photos or take notes on any of the documents provided.” Lugo continued, “I asked for copies of these documents and was told I needed to submit a request for information form, which I did. I asked for the documents to be put on to a thumb drive, which I provided.” Lugos thumb drive was returned to her with no information on it. According to Lugo, board secretary Jennifer Sanderlin told her the matter had been taken to the districts legal team and no further information would be provided. Board member Al Leonard said, “As I looked back on the minutes of our July board meeting and on that agenda, it talked about us going out to offer a contract to somebody. Zanin replied, “What we have is a misunderstanding of school finance and procurement laws. So, under this contract, this is a contracted position. So therefore, we sent out an RFQ, a request for quotes. We got bids and followed all the proper procedures and then brought it to the board. “Technically, I don’t have to have your approval to hire this person. I am asking for your blessing with the agreement with this because again, it’s a request for a quote and it’s a contracted employee versus hiring someone as an actual employee with full benefits and everything. So again, the purpose of tonight is to again, make you all aware again of what we are doing and keeping that open transparency and allowing you to agree with my decision to hire this person.” Governing Board Vice President Joey Hartnett asked for clarity, “So, we will be paying her on an as needed basis based on per job, right? And we won’t be paying her employee benefits?” Zanin explained, “Correct, her fees are not to exceed $51,000. It is a contracted position; she is not an employee of the district.” In other business, the governing board: * Approved the hiring of Stephanie Lymer as a secretary at Winslow Junior High School and Jayme Polston as a special education paraprofessional and Jefferson Elementary. * Approved the resignation of Erin Gonzales, paraprofessional at WJHS; Casey Hancock as payroll specialist for the district; and Susan Masheck as media technician at WJHS. * Approved the transfer of Lisette Quintana from secretary at WJHS to payroll specialist for the district. * Heard the district financial report. Business Manager Shirley Lomeli explained the district is at 17 percent of the year passed and nine percent of the budget used. * Awarded contracts through School Facilities Board for projects at Washington Elementary School and WJHS. The contract amounts will total over $1 million. This action is a preemptive action contingent upon funding approval from School Facilities Board. Lomeli said, “When it comes time to start this work, we want to have already approved the awarding of the contracts to whomever we need to award them to.” * Heard the first readings of new policies for the district. The new policies address the subject of mask wearing and requirements for the district. * Approved qualified evaluators for the 2020-21 school year. The list includes certified and classified employees. They will be responsible for evaluating others in their respective departments. * Approved the hiring of Casey Hancock as an hourly employee to assist the new payroll specialist as needed until June 30, 2021. * Ratified vouchers in a routine procedure that allows the board to submit vouchers to the county superintendent between meetings. The next meeting of the Winslow Unified School District Governing Board will be at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the district meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.
