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USEA Legislative Priorities

We represent Education Support Professionals (also know as Classified School Staff) throughout Utah.

USEA represents bus drivers, maintenance workers, food service employees, paraeducators, secretaries, media specialists, and custodians. These men and women are essential elements of Utah's quality educational system.

 

USEA is the voice for Education Support Professionals throughout Utah.

 

USEA's Positions on:

 

PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING

• Support full funding of all costs associated with new student growth for the coming school year
• Support increased funding through the Weighted Pupil Unit to allow local school boards maximum flexibility in funding local priorities and needs, including employee compensation and retention
• Support full funding of Social Security and retirement cost above the line
• Oppose education funding allocation on the basis of artificial benchmarks such as dollars spent in the classroom
• Oppose the use of tax dollars to fund or subsidize non-public education

FAIR COMPENSATION

• Support legislation that encourages the creation and preservation of classified jobs with salary, hours, and benefits adequate to allow classified employees to raise families and build careers while working for Utah's school districts
• Oppose legislation that encourages local school boards to create part-time, non-benefitted classified jobs

PRIVATIZATION AND LOCAL CONTROL

• Oppose legislation that encourages or prefers the use of private contractors to provide support functions, which experience has shown is not in the best interest of Utah students or taxpayers

• Support the ability of local school boards to determine the specific needs and the best interests of their own districts and local constituencies and to act to meet those needs

 

STUDENT TRANSPORTATION

• Support full funding of state-law-mandated student transportation
• Support funding assistance for districts affected by increasing fuel costs or geographic challenges
• Support funding for local school boards to upgrade existing bus fleets for increased efficiency
• Support continuation of the requirement that all school-related travel be in appropriate school buses operated by trained professional school bus drivers

 

CHILD NUTRITION

• Support continued funding of child nutrition programs from proceeds of state liquor sales

 

EMPLOYMENT

• Support protection of adequate due process for career classified employees, including continued protection from termination without just cause
• Support fair and valid performance evaluations for classified employees based on objective job-based criteria
• Support continued encouragement of collaboration between classified employees, their local school board employers, and other stakeholders by avoidance of divisive legislation
• Support continued development and funding of professional development opportunities for classified employees
• Support continues improvement in providing a safe school environment for students and employees

 

COMPENSATION

Secure, fairly-compensated classified jobs benefit school districts by ensuring a high-quality work force serving Utah students; and benefits local communities and the state by providing a solid foundation for a strong state economy. USEA encourages local school boards to create and maintain classified positions that permit their employees to raise families and build careers in public education, and supports legislation that furthers that effort.

Straight percentage salary increases do little to fairly compensate low-wage employees, often resulting in an actual dollar increase that is insignificant. USEA supports funding that allows local school boards to provide higher percentage increases to their lower-paid classified employees.

 

WORKING CONDITIONS

School districts operate more efficiently when committed employees have a mutually-respectful relationship with their employer and a voice in determining their own working conditions. USEA supports the right of public school employees to band together and to meet with their local school boards to discuss terms and conditions of their employment, including compensation.

 

RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS

The Utah State Retirement System is one of the best-managed public pension systems in the United States, with a funding level that is consistently above that considered adequate by national authorities. Benefits, including retirement, are an important part of the total package that attracts qualified people to serve as pubic employees. USEA believes that the present state retirement system, including benefits, is well designed and managed, ad should not be modified without good cause and careful deliberation.

 

PRIVATIZATION

USEA opposes the contraction of public education support services to private contractors. Experience throughout the state of Utah has shown that privatization does not save money or improve schools or student performance, and that it is not in the best interest of Utah students or taxpayers.