Oct. 15, 2003

Contact: Ola Faucher, Human Resources, (785) 864-7411.

KU classified staff votes to pursue an alternative to state civil service

LAWRENCE -- By a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent, University of Kansas classified staff members have voted to pursue an alternative to state civil service, said Ola Faucher, director of human resources at KU.

The decision will begin a process that could offer new opportunities for funding to support pay increases for classified staff.

A total of 1,159 votes were returned to the Office of University Governance by the Oct. 14 deadline -- a rate that represents 78 percent participation. Of the ballots that were returned, four were disqualified, 623 people voted yes and 532 voted no.

The vote was counted four times by members of the Classified Senate. Representatives of a group wishing to remain part of the state civil service system observed the count.

The Work Group for an Alternative to Civil Service issued its first proposals for an alternative to civil service in February 2003. A series of town hall meetings, departmental meetings and meetings with Classified Senate took place during the spring semester.

In May, 1,090 classified staff members cast ballots to decide whether to pursue the change. Of those, 545 people voted for the alternative and 545 voted not to pursue the proposal.

In July, human resources circulated 1,465 surveys to classified staff via campus mail to gauge reaction to features of the proposal. More than 700 surveys were returned including information about how classified staff felt about the individual changes that were included in the proposal.

This summer, the work group surveyed classified staff to determine what aspects of the proposal were most or least liked. The work group developed a final version of the proposal, taking into account the survey's findings. The revised proposal was distributed to classified staff Sept. 17.

Town hall meetings again were conducted to answer questions about the final proposal. About 300 classified staff members attended those meetings.

On Oct. 2, a second ballot was distributed to 1,479 classified staff members.

By a margin of 91 votes, respondents indicated their interest in pursuing an alternative to civil service.

University administration will work through the Kansas Board of Regents to gain support for advancing the proposal to the Legislature.