During the Dec. 7 meeting, the Joseph City School District Governing Board discussed the effects of Proposition 206, The Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, which passed in November.
Business Manager Steve Mills presented a summary of the act and how it will affect the school district fiscally.
“This proposition has two parts–state minimum wage increases and mandatory earned paid sick time,” said Mills.
The state minimum wage, which is currently $8.05 per hour, will increase to $10 on Jan.1. Thereafter the minimum wage will increase yearly, to $10.50 in 2018, $11 in 2019, $12 in 2020 and then will increase according to the Consumer Price Index each year after.
“The only employers exempt from the minimum wage increase are federal government and state of Arizona workers,” said Mills. “Note that school districts are not considered a state agency.”
Prop. 206 does not exempt part-time or intermittent workers, minors, students or people who are severely disabled, unless placed in a certified work activity or vocational training program.
“This increase could make it harder for us to hire as many student workers as we usually do, who are currently paid minimum wage,” noted Mills.
The new paid sick leave’s general rule states that employers with 15 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each year, with one hour of sick leave accrued for every 30 hours worked. According to Mills, the new sick leave requirements don’t begin until July 1, 2017. The accrual of paid sick leave will be at a rate of at least one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked. The proposition also states that an employer may require an employee hired after July 1 to wait for 90 days after their start date to begin such accrual.
The new law also states that paid sick leave is to be carried over from year to year unless the employer chooses to pay for the leave at the end of year, but an employee is not required to be compensated for unused sick leave upon termination of employment.
For the Joseph City District, Mills projected that the continued pay raise for minimum wage workers, plus an increase in wages for staff earning higher wages to offset the minimum wage increase will cost approximately $20,000 per year. An additional $15,000 to $25,000 will also be added each year as minimum wage increases phase in. “This all will lead to increased cost and record-keeping burden to implement sick leave for all,” said Mills.
Issues that Mills raised for consideration included addressing overall wage adjustments coming in July, reducing hours for temporary and student employees, contracting out substitutes to ease administrative work, developing new policies and considering other spending cuts.
Superintendent Bryan Fields thanked Mills for the presentation and stated that this would be a “great topic for a budget work session.”
In other action, the board:
* Corrected and approved the minutes from the Nov. 15, 2016, meeting.
* Approved district payroll, auxiliary, revolving fund, student activity and general funds vouchers.
* Authorized acceptance of board member Linda Kor-Fisher’s resignation, effective Feb. 1, 2017.
* Swore in governing board members for terms starting January 2017.
* Approved increasing the mileage reimbursement amount to qualifying parents who transport their children to school to 44.5 cents per mile.
* Approved a fundraising request from the HAPPY Club.
* Authorized the sale of a donated vehicle for the purpose of establishing a Yarrow Peters student scholarship fund.
* Approved hiring Tim Montoya as seventh grade boys’ basketball coach.
* Approved hiring Joshua Fisher as an auditorium student worker.
* Approved substitute teacher and seventh grade girls’ basketball coach Tori Baird.
* Approved substitute custodian and maintenance worker Aubrey Taylor.
* Approved hiring Amy Miller as an elementary aide.
* Approved hiring Cara Hutchens as a preschool aide.
