ROGERS -- A longtime School District employee believes his contract wasn't renewed because he complained the district doesn't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The district denies the allegation. The decision was all about improving efficiency, said Charles Lee, assistant superintendent for general administration.
Reduction in force
Mike Price, master plumber for the Rogers School District for 20 years, received this letter last month notifying him of the loss of his position.
April 18, 2018
HAND-DELIVERED
Dear Mike Price,
The Rogers School Board approved a reduction in force recommendation on April 17, 2018 due to the outsourcing of a maintenance trade, specifically in the area of plumbing. This action was taken in accordance to Policy N-GCQA - Staff Reduction in Force. As of today, you will be on paid administrative leave for the remainder of your contract for 2017-2018 school year.
Sincerely,
Marlin Berry
Superintendent
Source: Staff report
The School Board last month approved administrators' recommendation to outsource all of the district's plumbing work. Michael Price and Michael Thomas, the two plumbers on staff, were immediately put on paid administrative leave through June 30, when their contracts expire. Their contracts will not be renewed.
The district felt it could save money by eliminating their salaries and benefits, Lee said.
"We have a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayers' dollars," he said.
Price, a master plumber, is paid $52,279, and Thomas is being paid $45,863 this year, according to district documents.
Price, 57, has been a plumber for the district since 1997. He filed a grievance with the district in 2013 requesting work orders be prioritized for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. He also sought a new job description and a change in supervisor.
Price claimed at least a dozen buildings don't provide equal access for people with disabilities, as is required by the federal act.
The board heard Price's grievances during a special meeting in January 2014 but didn't act in response to Price's disabilities act complaint. Minutes from the meeting don't specifically mention the issue.
Price said he feels the district has been looking for a way to get rid of him since.
"When you blow the whistle on something like this, you're going to lose your job, at some point, for some reason," Price said.
The district's determination to let its plumbers go were "absolutely not" connected to Price's complaints, Lee said.
Price, who also teaches plumbing part-time at Northwest Arkansas Community College, would like his district job back and has asked the Arkansas Education Association for its assistance.
The association will present Price's case for consideration at an upcoming School Board meeting, probably at either the June or July meeting, according to Price.
Tracey-Ann Nelson, the association's executive director, said she couldn't comment on the case.
Price has family members who are disabled, so he knows how much they need facilities to comply with the federal standards, he said.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has been investigating claims of the district violating the disabilities act. Office employees visited the district last year to determine the extent of any violations of the act.
Craig Nydick, a civil rights lawyer with the Department of Education, didn't return an email message last week seeking comment.
Price has been in communication with Nydick since 2016. In his last email to Price on Jan. 23, Nydick wrote the office had made no determination yet as to whether the district is in compliance with the act, adding he could offer no timeline for completion of the investigation.
The district has been in communication with the Office for Civil Rights and will do whatever it has to do to ensure the schools are in compliance with the act, Lee said. He declined to comment on the status of the investigation.
"It is still in the works," Lee said.
Other than being the person whose complaint prompted the investigation, Price hasn't had anything to do with the investigation.
The district's change in approach to plumbing services won't be the first time it has outsourced jobs.
Rogers began contracting with SSC for cleaning services in 2008 for two schools. The company has taken over more of the work load as district-employed custodians have left, with the district's goal being full outsourcing of custodial services.
Price wonders why the district couldn't replace its plumbers through attrition like it's replacing its custodians. He has two years and 10 months to go before he qualifies for retirement benefits, he said.
Lee said a desire to achieve maximum efficiency as soon as possible guided the district's actions. The district outsources some of its larger plumbing projects, Lee said.
The district has examined other opportunities for outsourcing as well. Lee talked to a Little Rock company about handling transportation services, but district officials decided the move wouldn't increase efficiency, he said.
Thomas, the other plumber affected by the district's outsourcing decision, didn't return a text message last week seeking comment.
Other large school districts in Northwest Arkansas have plumbers on their staffs. Springdale's School District has three plumbers while Bentonville's and Fayetteville's districts both employ two plumbers, according to each district's communication director.
NW News on 05/10/2018