Around 50 classified employees of the William S. Hart Union High School District rallied at the district office Wednesday for more benefits and higher pay, as Hart District Governing Board members recognized the upcoming week as “classified school employee week.”

“You’re not going to have good morale on any campus with any set of staff if everybody is coming to work tired because they have two or three jobs and if they’re coming to work feeling unappreciated,” said Nicole Pollard, a sign language interpreter with the district.

Nearly a dozen staff members spoke to the board during the Wednesday night meeting, citing years since their last pay increase and a lack of benefits given to other employees. Classified employees are a broad coalition made up of every employee from janitors and maintenance workers to secretaries and administrative assistants.

Jessica Morrow, a labor relations representative for the California School Employees Association, said classified employees in the Hart District were forced to pay out of pocket for benefits their coworkers receive at no extra cost.

“We’re looking for the district to pay for dental and vision benefits, because they pay for that for every other classification,” she said.

The board recognized Classified School Employee Week, May 20-26, at the meeting. The California State Legislature adopted the third full week of May each year as Classified School Employee Week in 1986. Staff members said the timing was ironic.

“I just thought that this would be a good time for us to come together and just the board know how … dedicated we are and how important we are to the running of the district,” said Kathy Hefferon, who serves as the president for the Hart District chapter of the CSEA.

Hefferon, who works as a special education instructional assistant, said her and other classified employees face a particularly difficult struggle to live in and around the Santa Clarita Valley because of the high cost of living.

“As the cost of living rises, and health insurance premiums rise and rents and gas and food and all those things rise, it’s really difficult to keep up with that, when the salary isn’t rising at the same rate,” she said.

Staff members wore blue to the meeting in an apparent homage to the Red for Ed movement which has seen success in other state, with teachers receiving pay increases in Arizona, West Virginia and Oklahoma among others.

While the employees at the meeting said they do not want to take some of the more extreme steps taken by educators in other states, they want their concerns heard by the district, and will do what it takes to get officials to listen.

“I think the next step is not something ideal. I don’t think anyone has ever said the word strike because I don’t think that’s something anybody wants to do, and I really hope it doesn’t ever come to the table,” Pollard said. “We’re just asking for what we feel like we deserve, and it’s not a lot. Hopefully they can come to the table with us and be rational about this.”

District spokesman Dave Caldwell said Hart District administrators valued the work of classified staff in a statement to KHTS News.

“We value and appreciate the devoted classified employees of the Hart School District,” he said. “We want a resolution that addresses concerns of the employees, while maintaining our fiduciary responsibility to everyone, staff and students, within the district.”

Hart District and CSEA officials confirmed talks between the district and union were underway, but were unable to comment further on ongoing negotiations.

After hearing the classified staff members during the public comment section of the meeting, board president Steve Sturgeon responded, thanking the employees for taking time away from their families and other jobs to be at the meeting.

“We truly do appreciate you coming forward and for our opportunity to hear what you have to say,” Sturgeon said. “Sometimes information gets discussed, reviewed and analyzed between unions and staff in more top level than what we hear or see at the staff level.”

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