An overwhelming sense of commitment and devotion filled the board room on Thursday as Board President Diane Knight stated “We care about our employees and we hope that this sends that message to you. You are the heart of everything we do and if we take care of employees, we are taking care of our students. We want that to be crystal clear.”
This remark made near the conclusion of a meeting centered on protecting the retirement rights of future Aspen Peaks School District employees stood as a direct promise to build Aspen Peaks on a foundation of gratitude.
Board members said these policies were chosen as some of the very first to be presented in a hope to quell any sense of panic that the district split may have caused. The board indicated that the approval of these policies will be an action item in their May 14 meeting.
“We wanted to present these as some of our first policies to let you know that we honor the commitment that you have made to Alpine,” said Board Member Nicki Brammer. “We fully intend to continue these same retirement benefits.”
The retirement benefits aforementioned can be found in the listed policies below.
These policies have been carried over from Alpine nearly untouched. A few changes have been made to clarify language and replace the district name, but the core intentions have remained steady.
“It is a way to honor the great work that has been done,” said Board Member Jason Hart. Diane then added “We are in awe of our predecessors."
One positive change that was made to these policies, was the clarification that time split between Alpine and Aspen Peaks will not be detrimental to these benefits. Time spent between the two districts will not be counted separately. “We wanted to make it clear that that time isn’t going anywhere,” said Board Member Jason Theler.
Near the close of the meeting, Superintendent Joel Perkins proclaimed “I want to take a moment to thank the board for their willingness to demonstrate to our employees their appreciation and their willingness to work with them moving forward.”