1) Do you support paying a living wage to all School Board workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? (The ACLC defines a living wage as 125% of the Federal Poverty Level – currently $14.78 an hour).
Yes
a. How will you ensure contracted workers are paid the set wage?
To ensure that workers are paid the living wage, the requirement needs to be adopted by ordinance or policy by majority of board. I would support that policy. The Increased costs would have to be incorporated into the budget.
b. What is your plan to get us there?
After an initial increase, have a phase in period of say 3 years to get all employees to the 14.78/hr or indexed rate.
c. What ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community?
Pay and benefits usually correlate to skill set; those with greater skills usually fair better in the job market. Increase vocational and career technical training in high school, apprenticeships and/or post-secondary training would prepare our local workforce for jobs that offer higher wages and benefits.
2) Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted school board workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to Hurricanes)?
Yes. I support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal and contracted school board workers in the event of emergency work closures for natural disasters like hurricanes. The money has already been budgeted and the employee would have worked if the disaster had not occurred.
3) Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would:
- inform renters of their rights under existing laws
- offer an alternative to costly courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages
- protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy efficiency
Yes
4) Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer funded projects?
Yes