FORT WAYNE – About 70 food-service employees at Southwest Allen County Schools could soon receive additional paid time off if the school board votes to approve changes to benefits presented Tuesday.
Food-service employees, most of whom are part time, do not receive the benefits that other classified staffers do, Director of Human Resources Phyllis Davis said.
“Many times, part-time employees don’t have benefits, but we think it’s important for our employees to have that,” Davis said. “They meet our children every day in those cafeterias. They are a familiar face. They provide continuity for those individuals.”
If approved, food-service personnel would see two paid holidays – Presidents Day and Good Friday – added to their list of holidays. Employees currently receive time off for New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, two days for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas.
Also, employees with five or more years of service with the district would receive three personal days each year, Davis said.
About $8,000 needed to cover the cost of the additional vacation days would come from the district’s food-service fund, she said.
The board will discuss the proposed changes at its next meeting.
New leaders
Also Tuesday, the board approved new officers for this year.
John Blum will serve as school board president, Holly Glick as vice president and Mark Gilpin as secretary.
Jim Coplen will be corporation treasurer and Annie McCrory will be corporation deputy treasurer.
