Turbulence continues in the process to grant non-licensed staff members at Summit School District the right to unionize — and officials say it’s illuminating clear trust issues. 

The Summit School District Board of Education opted to hold a special meeting related to the matter on Monday, Nov. 10, after officials expressed not being ready to vote on a policy dictating the process for non-licensed staff members to unionize at a Thursday, Nov. 6, meeting. 

District leadership’s intention to install what’s known as an “H” Series Policy, or a policy outlining framework for a group to unionize including certification and decertification guidelines, continues to be a pain point for advocates of the proposed bargaining unit. 

“Honestly, we didn’t think that it was going to be this difficult to be recognized,” Summit Middle School Secretary Naomi McMahon said. “Teachers (already) had an agreement. We didn’t think we would be treated differently.”

Superintendent Tony Byrd said some districts have these policies for collective bargaining purposes and Summit School District didn’t at the time of formalizing the teacher’s union, so they are now designing one. Advocates of the proposed union say the process of formulating the policy is overly bureaucratic.

Staff members from Steamboat Springs, Lake County and Park County schools enter the conversation

A component of the “H” Series Policy regarding the makeup of the union is now emerging as a top concern for supporters, so much so they brought input and comments of support from those working in neighboring school districts to the meeting. 

Advocates of the proposed bargaining unit want what’s known as a “wall-to-wall” union, which is a structure where both the teachers and non-licensend staff members would essentially be one union bargaining together. President of the Summit County Education Association Joe Kassay said if there were not to be a wall-to-wall union, they risk a situation where teachers and non-licensed staff members would have to competitively bargain as opposed to being one team.  He said the district was too small to have two bargaining units and non-licensed staff members might not have the negotiating power they need. 

Staff members from Steamboat Springs School District, Lake County School District and Park County School District shared their support for the request for a wall-to-wall union during public comment. 

Ann Brenner, a secretary in the Steamboat Springs School District,  passed along her written sentiment. 

“When classified staff joined forces with our teachers in one unified bargaining unit, our voices finally carried equal weight. Before that, many of us felt that our concerns were often heard but not acted on,” she said. 

Colorado Education Association Board Member, former Summit School District student and current teacher at the Park County School District Taya Mastrobuono made a public comment via Zoom and said division is never the answer, advocating for a wall-to-wall union. She also cautioned the district on its usage of the law firm Lyon Gaddis in the matter. 

“I have lived through a very similar situation before in Park County. … The same law firm advised our board with similar policies, trust broke down and conversation shifted from collaborative to defensive,” she said. 

Board member Chris Guarino and Byrd said later on in the meeting the Summit School District has used the law firm for around two decades and did not seek out the law firm specifically for this matter. Byrd has denied claims the district sought a lawyer with a union-busting agenda.

Board member Johanna Kugler wondered if the board or district leadership had heard any perspectives related to a wall-to-wall union from other district’s superintendents, administrations or human resources departments as opposed to from staff members in those types of unions themselves. Board member Lisa Webster said she did reach out to those in other districts, and learned a strong superintendent-union leadership relationship is essential, otherwise “there’s a lot more issues that lean toward the cons.”

The board decided to show support for an “umbrella organization” comprising two or more bargaining units with two or more separate contracts. 

Kassay said the Summit County Education Association does not currently have a firm stance on this decision and wants to learn more about it at the Nov. 10 meeting. 

The district did decide to amend the draft of its “H” Series Policy to meet concerns raised at a Thursday, Oct. 23, meeting related to certification and decertification, changing membership thresholds and voting-related guidelines.

Officials discuss distrust evident in the process at-large

After receiving the public comments, the board discussed a theme of distrust they feel has become more prominent in this process. 

“(There still seems) to be this core mistrust when all evidence points to positive intentions (from officials),” Guarino said. “I just don’t know why that mistrust keeps surfacing … We’re not saying flat-out ‘no wall- to-wall.'” 

Byrd said he emailed some district staff members about needing to have more conversations about trust, noting “there’s a lot of tension.” 

He indicated the tension wasn’t new. 

He said around a year ago he suggested third-party facilitation to garner some level of understanding around the trust issues some staff members voiced then. He said he still thinks third-party facilitation on the subject of trust is needed. 

“This is a long-standing challenge, and there’s finger-pointing in all directions, mine out (to other people) and other people to me,” he said. 

The “H” Series Policy was not voted on at the Nov. 6 meeting. A preliminary vote could happen at the Nov. 10 special meeting. More details on that meeting can be found at Meetings.BoardBook.org/Public/Agenda/summit.