Note: Recordings and documents for agenda items can be accessed via BoardDocs by clicking on the corresponding agenda items.

Employment Contract Approvals

The Board of Education announced a one-lane salary-schedule increase for all paraprofessionals — some 300 employees — as part of the unanimously approved 2024-2025 employment contract for Education Support Professionals. This is an investment of about $750,000 for employees categorized as Early Childhood Paraeducators, Paraeducators, Paraprofessional Educators, and Registered Behavior Technicians. 

The Board also unanimously approved the 2024-2025 negotiated contracts for licensed personnel and administrators. The contracts were negotiated with employee groups — the Canyons Education Association for licensed employees, the Canyons Association of Education Support Professionals for ESP, and a corps of principals for administrators — over the past few weeks. 

Details of the approved contract are as follows: 

FINANCIAL COMPENSATION 

Educational Support Professional Employees will receive: 

• A cost-of-living adjustment – 3.1 percent to step one of each lane with each step advancing by the percentage shown on the salary schedule.
• Step increase
• One-time stipend of $500, prorated according to FTE status, for all contracted employees on the top step during the 2023-24 school year. The stipend will be paid on the November 30, 2024 pay date
• One-time stipend of $150 for hourly employees on the top step during the 2023-24 school year. The stipend will be paid on the November 30, 2024 pay date
• For the 2024-25 school year, Canyons School District will contribute 0.7 percent of an employee’s salary, into the employee’s 401K, if the employee is currently enrolled in URS Tier 2 Hybrid option.

Licensed Employees will receive: 

• Total Financial Compensation Increase of $3,210:
• ESA: Increased from $8,400 to $8,904, i.e., $504
• TSSA: Increased from $900 to $1,020, i.e., $120
• Increment Level Increase: $950
• COLA: 2.403 percent calculated on Increment Level 20, minus ESA and TSSA funds, i.e., $1,636
• Starting Salary: $61,610
• Increment Levels
• Education Enhancements
• For the 2024-2025 school year, Canyons School District will contribute 0.7 percent of an educator’s salary, into the educator’s 401K, if the educator is currently enrolled in UR’ Tier 2 Hybrid option.

Administrators will receive: 

• A Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) – 3.0 percent to the base salary schedule
• Step Increase
• One-time stipend of 1.25 percent for administrators on the top step during the 2023-2024 school year
• For the 2024-25 school year, Canyons School District will contribute 0.7 percent of an administrator’s salary, into the administrator’s 401K, if the administrator is currently enrolled in URS Tier 2 Hybrid option.

BENEFITS 

Educational Support Professional Employees / Licensed Employees / Administrators will have: 

• An increase in the cost of health insurance premiums for employees on all insurance plans beginning January 1, 2025, i.e., 6.5%. The District will assume 75 percent of the increase of the cost for each plan and employees will assume a 25 percent of the increase of the cost of each plan. The approximate cost to the District is $1.055M and $348k to the employees. The deductibles, copays and out-of-pocket maximums will not increase.

POLICY CHANGES 

Educational Support Professional Employees: 

• 420.03 – Hours of Work (ESP) § Alarm Responders who are required to work on major holidays will be compensated at double time and compensatory time will not be allowed, i.e., July 4, July 24, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Easter, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, and Juneteenth Day.
• 420.04 – Employee Leave (ESP)
• “Alternate Leave” deduction will be reduced to 25% of the employee’s daily rate.
• “Parental Leave” was increased from ten (10) to fifteen (15) days of paid leave to a non-gestational parent for bonding/care of a child and for adoption.
• “Personal Leave” allocation was increased from three (3) to five (5) days per year, i.e., the conversion of two (2) Family Sick Leave days.
• “Personal Leave” was expanded increasing the number of allowable personal leave days used in a given school year from five (5) to seven (7) days.

Licensed Employees 

• 410.01 – Scope of Negotiations – Policies (Licensed) § Stipulates which policies are negotiated for the 2024-2025 school year.
• 410.03 – Hours of Work (Licensed) § Licensed personnel assigned to a single school are expected to work at least 20 minutes prior to and at least 20 minutes after the student day. Note: The eight (8) hour work day remains the same.
• When elementary teachers are required to provide supervision during their duty-free lunch period, or educators are required to attend mandatory meetings that exceeds contract time, through collaboration with the principal, the educator may exchange this time for other non-student contract time within ten (10) working days.
• 410.04 – Employee Leave (Licensed)
• “Parental Leave” was increased from 10 to 15 days of paid leave to a non-gestational parent for bonding/care of a child and for adoption.
• “Personal Leave” allocation was increased from three to five days per year, i.e., the conversion of two Family Sick Leave days.
• “Personal Leave” was expanded increasing the number of allowable personal leave days used in a given school year from five to seven days.
• Assessed Fee(s), i.e., the cost of a long-term substitute, was updated to $150.

Administrators 

• 410.04 – Employee Leave (Licensed) / 420.04 – Employee Leave (ESP)
• “Parental Leave” was increased from 10 to 15 days of paid leave to a non-gestational parent for bonding/care of a child and for adoption.
• “Personal Leave” allocation was increased from three to five days per year, i.e., the conversion of two (2) Family Sick Leave days.
• “Personal Leave” was expanded increasing the number of allowable personal leave days used in a given school year from five to seven days.

MISCELLANEOUS 

Educational Support Professional Employees 

• The District will maintain the same number of working days and hours for current contracted employees.
• On a contracted non-student day, the District will sponsor and provide professional development for all ESP employees.
• The District will create a committee to review the ESP Salary Schedule and recommend possible modifications.
• The District will reimburse the cost of ongoing DOT physicals for employees required to hold a CDL for their position, e.g., bus drivers, bus mechanics, transportation office staff, and after the initial DOT physical has been successfully passed as required for employment.
• When a current Canyons ESP employee, contract/hourly/part-time, changes to a higher lane assignment the employee’s current hourly rate is multiplied by 1.07 generating a “placement hourly rate”.

Licensed Employees 

• The Elementary Planning Task Force will continue during the 2024-2025 school year and will review and provide recommendations addressing needs of elementary school teachers.
• Elementary educators, whose classroom is changed at the direction of their principal, will be paid eight hours at the in-service rate, as well as have access to the building the week before and after the school year, allowing time for the educator to move classrooms.
• PLCs and/or Professional Development will not be held the week prior to or the week of Parent Teacher Conferences providing time for educators to prepare for the conferences.
• For the 2024-2025 school year, Parent-Teacher Conference dates will be rotated equitably, Monday through Wednesday, between elementary, middle and high schools.
• Special Education educators will be given one day of substitute coverage for each grading period, i.e., quarter or trimester, providing additional time to complete required paperwork and hold IEP meetings.
• The 32 Paid Professional Hours, funded by the Utah State Legislature, will be compensated at an educator’s hourly rate of pay, see the Licensed Salary Schedule-Hourly Rate sheet.

Administrators 

• Commitment from the District – Study compensation for administrators, i.e., Salary and Activities Differential.
• Commitment from the District – Study the feasibility of providing an early retirement incentive for administrators, e.g., six years of medical coverage post retirement.
• Commitment from the District – Continue to provide additional assistant principals in the elementary schools.
• Commitment from the District – Study the current Parent Teacher Conference structure and possible recommendations for future modifications.

Consent Agenda

The Board of Education approved the Consent Agenda, including minutes of the April 23, 2024 meeting of the Canyons Board of Education; hire and termination reports; overnight-travel requests; purchasing bids; Superintendent Contract from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026; Business Administrator Contract from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024; annual report from Sex Education Instruction Committee and Resources; Mount Jordan Middle’s Elevate Grant; administrative appointments; and LAND Trust and TSSA plans for 2024-2025. 

Canyons Strong Employee Recognitions

The following were recognized for their achievements:

• Alta View Principal Scott Jameson for being named Best Principal on the 2024 Best of State list. Alta View won Best Elementary School. 
• Hillcrest High theater arts teaching team for winning Best Theatrical Instruction in the 2024 Best of State. 
• Hillcrest also won 5A state championship in theater and the Best Ensemble Award at the Utah High School Musical Theater Awards. 
• Alta High math teacher Kevin Clyde, who is CSD’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.  Eastmont’s Stephanie Davis is the Middle School Teacher of the Year and Park Lane’s Jamie McDonald is the Elementary Teacher of the Year.
• Ridgecrest teacher Sherise Longhurst, a recipient of a 2024 Sorenson Legacy Award for Excellence in Arts Education.
• Winners of the first-ever Aspiring Canyons Educator Scholarships from the Canyons Education Foundation. They are Alyssa Hill, a paraprofessional at Bella Vista Elementary; Jonathan Kesler, a CSD Facilities Maintenance Technician, and Melody Otterstrom, a senior at Brighton High School.
• CSD bus driver David Carlson for showing compassion to a child in distress and the four drivers who qualified to compete at the upcoming Bus Road-eo. 

Board member Kris Millerberg was gifted the Board member plaque of her deceased husband, Mont, who passed away in February. She also received a photograph of Mr. Millerberg that had been displayed on the lobby of the District Office.

School Highlights

Canyon View Principal Kierstin Draper presented highlights of the Cottonwood Heights-area school that has 480 students. Draper lauded the involvement of parents in the school community, saying she believes Canyon View has “the best PTA in the state.” The school has started such new programs as Girls on the Run, Makers Space, STEAM Squad, Road to the Success, and Book Blitz Jr. She students thrive in the classroom and the various before- and after-school activities. 

Patron Comment

The following patron addressed the Board during Patron Comment. Recordings of the patron’s remarks can be accessed on BoardDocs.

• Andy Markus

Roundtable Discussion

The Board of Education engaged in a conversation about the potential of starting an innovation center at The Point as part of the development where the Utah State Prison used to stand. Ideas for the facility centered around career pathways in high-demand professions, including the technology industry. Board members also stated a desired emphasis on project-based learning at such a school.