School Board Update from Superintendent Grumley and President Stickler
April 19, 2022
Hello Garfield Re-2 families, staff, and community members:
As we head into the home stretch of the school year, we wanted to provide you with an update on some significant events happening in the Garfield Re-2 School District.
Strategic Planning
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In March, the Garfield Re-2 School Board met for two days to teambuild, create a set of core values and develop a strategic planning timeline. The Director team provided the Board with a presentation on the current state of the district.
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One of the biggest outcomes of this meeting was the decision to put out a request for proposals seeking third-party organizations to help us to develop our strategic plan.
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At the April 13, 2021, School Board meeting, Colorado Education Initiative was selected as the organization to help Garfield Re-2 move this work forward. The public will be highly encouraged to participate in a variety of ways including focus groups. This work will begin early in the next school year, so please be looking for these opportunities.
Family, Staff & Community Engagement
Additionally, we invite the community and staff to meet our School Board representatives at Meet and Greet events on April 20 at Rifle Middle School beginning at 6 p.m. and May 4 following a special School Board meeting at Cactus Valley Elementary at 5:30 p.m. The meet and greet will follow the school board meeting and begin no later than 6:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend this meeting, celebrate our staff, and attend a meet and greet afterwards.
Employee Benefits
At the February 23, 2022 Board of Education meeting, the school board approved the benefits renewal for the 2022-2023 plan year that will begin July 1st, 2022. We are pleased to announce that there will be a big change in the monthly premiums for the next plan year.
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First, insurance rates will not be increasing for the 22-23 school year, despite a 6.8% increase in premiums. The District will cover the entire 6.8% increase for ALL of our insured staff so that your cost does not go up;
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Second, Garfield Re-2 will move from three tiers for insurance options to four. This means that our staff will be able to choose from employee only, employee +spouse, employee + child(ren), and a family plan. This will provide our employees additional flexibility when choosing the right plan for you and your family;
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Third, the School Board has generously increased the District’s contribution to each tier significantly, again, reducing premium costs to our employees by as much as $800 for those of our staff on family plans.
Employee Compensation Package
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At the April 13, 2022, School Board meeting, the Board heard a presentation from Ohem Consulting Services about the salary market analysis they performed for Garfield Re-2.
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A compensation review of the past 15+ years was discussed and it was noted that with few exceptions, Garfield Re-2 staff, teachers, and administrators are paid below comparison districts. The district continues to be at a disadvantage due to years of salary freezes and an inconsistent compensation philosophy.
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The School Board is awaiting a recommendation from Collaborative Solutions, and the West Garfield Education Association (WGEA).
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The compensation package will be discussed at the April 27, 2022, School Board meeting. A special meeting will be held at Cactus Valley Elementary on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 beginning at 5:30 p.m. to approve the package.The meet and greet will follow the school board meeting and begin no later than 6:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend this meeting, celebrate our staff, and attend a meet and greet afterwards.
Sincerely,
Meriya Stickler, School Board President
Heather Grumley, Superintendent