Schools

School Board's lawyer to check memo dispute

By TIMES STAFF
Published May 26, 2007

LAND O'LAKES - School Board chairwoman Marge Whaley has asked the board's lawyer, Dennis Alfonso, to look into whether superintendent Heather Fiorentino went too far in telling district employees that they're on call during the months when they aren't contracted to work.

"She has all sorts of people under her direct command who she can say have to come in" to run shelters during emergencies, said Whaley, who has received several angry calls from teachers. "All the nonbargaining employees I feel like could probably be told to come in."

The United School Employees of Pasco has criticized Fiorentino's memo sent on the last of school asking all workers to provide "up to date emergency contact phone numbers and be available to report to work" if called.

Alfonso said he would look into the matter and report back, though he speculated that if the board tried to impose such an action without negotiating first, "it would implicate the whole bargaining process."

Board member Allen Altman said no one had called him, but he wondered why the issue needed to come up at all. "We have always had enough volunteers, " he said.

Fiorentino said she did run the memo by the district's attorney for employee matters before sending it out. She reiterated that the point was to inform, not to threaten.

[Last modified May 25, 2007, 21:31:49]