Administrators union files complaint citing retaliation in talks with CCSD

The Clark County school administrators union has filed a labor complaint against the school district after nearly 18 months without a contract, accusing officials of retaliation against the union for its support of the mandated district reorganization.

The Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees also claims that District D Trustee Kevin Child threatened the group’s executive director with physical violence over the union’s stance on the reorganization law, AB394.

Union members last saw a retroactive salary raise in 2014, before the contract for roughly 1,300 employees expired last year.

While district trustees have delayed negotiations, the teachers and police unions have received favorable contracts, the union wrote in its Oct. 20 complaint filed with the Employee-Management Relations Board.

According to the complaint, the district is retaliating against the union for its stance on the decentralization of the district, noting that trustees and the union “have differing viewpoints on the benefits and implementation of AB394.”

The union — which represents principals, central office administrators and professional technical employees — has said it supports the reorganization, which will give more power to individual schools, allowing principals and school organizational teams to craft the school’s budget and giving less power to the district’s central office.

The union also claims that trustees are stalling on negotiations until the district adopts its new decentralized model.

In a statement, the school district said it has been experiencing budget constraints during negotiations with the union and all other district unions.

“CCSD values its employees and any allegation that we would retaliate through our bargaining process is unfounded,” spokeswoman Michelle Booth said in a statement.

Stephen Augspurger, the union’s executive director, declined to comment on the matter as contract negotiations head to arbitration next month.

But at a school board meeting in August, he said Child threatened him twice after discussing AB394.

“He said, ‘Steve, I am so mad at you, I’m going to kick your ass,’” Augspurger told the trustees during the public comment period.

In another instance, Augspurger said, Child told him the district would settle the contract for the support staff union with no money left for administrators.

Child said he never threatened Augspurger, calling the accusation completely false.

“I respect the office, I respect people,” he said.

Contract negotiations with school district unions have been an obstacle since the district faced a $67 million budget deficit last year.

Support staff, who had also gone years without salary step increases, just had their contract finalized on Tuesday after negotiations also went to arbitration.

The union is calling on the district to provide reasons for rejecting previous contract proposals and negotiate a 2015-2017 contract in good faith. The district has not yet filed a response with the labor board.

Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at 702-383-4630 or apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.

Clark County school administrators union labor complaint against the CCSD by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Scribd