A new Wasatch County School District complaint policy provides a channel for reporting concerns.
The policy is to be used when an individual’s issues cannot be resolved informally. It is not available for complaints of bullying, discrimination or harassment, for which there are different pathways to resolution.
District administrators and board members have had the complaint policy up for public review for 30 days. Students, teachers and parents were able to submit feedback on the topic.
School board member Breanne Dedrickson said they heard a variety of feedback, including one real-life scenario.
“I hope that person now has a course to resolve their scenario and their own complaint,” Dedrickson said.
The new complaint policy process does not create any rights beyond those granted by law or board policy. The district “highly encourages” individuals to try to resolve their concerns at the lowest level.
If the complainant feels they cannot approach the person they have a concern about, or if the issue is unresolved, they should discuss it with the respondent’s immediate supervisor. Next steps include filling out the complaint form.
Then there is a supervisory review period and the possibility of an appeal period.
Complaints regarding the superintendent or business administrator would be filed directly with the board. An impartial investigation would be weighed and could be performed internally.
Eric Campbell, the district’s director of human resources and student support, presented the item at a board meeting on Thursday. He said administrators have worked to ensure the complaint process is a “valuable asset” for those with concerns.
“I believe that we have the steps in there that will allow those that have a concern to have that leveled and then reviewed in a way that we can serve the public and also our own constituency,” Campbell said.
Employees and students may also have their concerns addressed.
“I love that we have a very clear, streamlined approach now of how to handle complaints because that was probably one of the hardest things for me as a new board member to learn … how do I direct people?” Dedrickson said.
School Board President Kim Dickerson said that, like other policies, the board can make amendments in the future.
“On any of these policies that we pass, we can change it again,” Dickerson said.
The school board voted unanimously to adopt the complaint policy on Thursday.