There was higher than usual turnout for the first Sedona- Oak Creek School District Governing Board meeting of the year on Jan. 21 at the Sedona Performing Arts Center. Not long after SOCSD Board President Randy Hawley and Vice President Heather Hermen were unanimously reelected for the year, West Sedona School art teacher Jessica Nelson gave a speech to them and the three other board members about her health care situation.

Eight community members also spoke at the podium on Nelson’s behalf, including her neighbors, colleagues, past students and a former WSS principal.

Nelson, 54, has worked at WSS as an art teacher for 29 years. Nelson would be able to retire after one more semester, but said she was told in a meeting that her working hours the next school year would be reduced to half time.

District employees need to be working at least three-quarter time to be eligible for their health care plan. If Nelson’s health care was eliminated due to the fact she was only contracted to work half time, she said she would not be able to pay for her medical costs.

“I was recently told that the plan for me for next school year is to reduce my art teacher posi­tion to half-time, which means that the district will not pay for my medical insurance,” Nelson said. “I was diagnosed with a rare cancer last summer, and the next 18 months are of critical importance for my continued positive prognosis.

“Having my income cut by 50%, while at the same time paying the entire cost of medical insurance, will not allow me to cover my mortgage, let alone everything else. You may as well have fired me.”

Since Nelson and the eight speakers on her behalf weren’t on the agenda, but spoke during the board’s general call to the public, parlia­mentary rules prevented board members from responding. However, Hawley was seen shaking his head during some of the allega­tions, and mentioned that no contracts would be finalized until March.

Stephanie Cea, 34, spoke about how Nelson’s encour­agement as a teacher led her to flourish as a child at WSS and as an adult in nursing and real estate.

“When you get your artwork graded by [Nelson], there are no red pen marks or minus signs; there are no failing grades if you apply yourself,” she said. “With the utmost genuine excitement [Nelson] would take my art into her hands and look me in the eyes with nothing but praise. The enthusiastic acceptance that emanates from her ener­getic optimism made me confi­dent in myself, made me realize that [my art] doesn’t need to be perfect, that I don’t need to be perfect. I can’t be the only kid she’s had this effect on.”

Greg Kirkham, who spoke of working with Nelson while he was WSS principal years ago, told the board that “Sedona needs to retain excellent teachers, or we’re going to lose our students,” and “if we are to attract more teachers, we need to give them more reasons to stay in Sedona than leave. Teachers are profes­sionals. They need to be treated as professionals.”

Laurel Romm, a former Sedona Red Rock High School teacher who had a daughter go through the school district, said Nelson wasn’t the only teacher in the district who was facing being cut off right before retirement.

“You have a 29-year veteran, who has already notified that she was retiring four months into the school year … and you have decided, for whatever reason, to move her position to half-time,” she said to the board. “I’m going to be blunt … that surplus [of funds] I saw up there can be wiped out real fast in an age discrimination lawsuit.”

‘Misinformation’

After the meeting was over, SOCSD Superintendent Dennis Dearden said he spoke with Nelson and others who represented her in the SPAC lobby about what he called misinformation.

“We have every inten­tion of helping [Nelson], but we could not say that at the board meeting because it’s not on the agenda,” he told the Red Rock News the day after the board meeting. “And we can’t say it prior to getting the nod from the board to move ahead with the budget. Now we can officially give contracts out.”

Dearden also said something that wasn’t mentioned by Nelson or her supporters during the meeting.

“She’s always been half-time art,” he said. “A year ago we decided two employees were near retirement. They needed another year so we created a roving substitute posi­tion. A roving substitute position for those two individuals cost us about $100,000 between the two. We wanted to take care of them. But we told them that was a one-year thing.”

For the upcoming school year, Dearden said no art will be taken away, only the substitute positions for Nelson and Patricia Falsetto. Since Nelson was a half-time roving substitute and half-time art teacher, the substitute position being taken away would be what would lead her to the 50% cut of her hours.

Both Ne l son and Falsetto have the oppor­tunity to apply for “any open positions within the district that might be available,” Dearden added, saying that they don’t just want to put them in any job — it has to be the right fit.

Budget

“When I first came here and took this job [the district was] $1.4 million in debt,” he said. “In just two years we’ve not only balanced the budget, we’re moving 3% into a reserve so that we can remain healthy, and we’re giving a three-step raise. But to do that, we have had to be a lot leaner.”

Teachers will be getting an average of a 7% raise next school year due to Red for Ed state funding increases. As a result, the district has to be very careful with the way it spends its budget, Dearden said. He added that one of the ways they managed to rescue the district’s budget when he took over was by the administration doubling up on jobs and keeping the same salary — i.e., Dearden is both the superintendent and prin­cipal of SRRHS, Heather Shaw-Burton is in charge of both human resources and finance, etc.

“We’re not in the posi­tion to create jobs. We just don’t have the money …. If you look at the bottom line, there was only $8,700 left … [so] you have to take existing positions in your school and match [them] with [Nelson and Falsetto’s] skill set.”

Fal set to, 68, was originally offered the substitute position after the Montessori preschool track at WSS was termi­nated last year. Falsetto had worked at the school for 22 years prior and was able to keep her salary and health benefits with the district for the year she was contracted to substitute.

But now as the school year approaches its end, Falsetto doesn’t know what her future will look like. With two years before she was planning to retire, she will have to interview again for jobs that may come up within the district.

“It’s a difficult time being this age that I am and having to look for different jobs and fight to stay in the district that I love so much,” she said. “The school district on many levels has been really good to me, but I want to keep working, I can’t understand why they can’t guarantee me a few more years …. For me it would be wonderful if my superintendent just said, ‘I know you have a couple years [before retirement]’ and just made those over­tures to me.”

In a Facebook thread on Wednesday, Jan. 29, Hawley posted that “Every teacher who is currently on staff will be getting a full-time contract next year.”

Shaw-Burton said that the district had found a solution for Nelson to work full-time next school year and retain full health care coverage by continuing to be half-time art and also taking over a half-time special educa­tion paraprofessional position at WSS which will be opening up.

Shaw-Burton also said that Falsetto will be offered one of two full-time teaching positions that will be opening up.