The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District has swapped contract proposals with its two biggest employee unions. The exchange kicks off the negotiation process over new employment contracts for the district’s certified and support staff.
This round of negotiations looks a little different than it has in previous years, according to Nate Crabtree, the district’s director of Human Resources.
“There is, we’ll just say, an interesting component to all of this, right?” Crabtree said during a meeting with one of the unions earlier this month. “Like we’re negotiating separately with the associations within the school district.”
The Kenai Peninsula Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Educational Support Association have previously negotiated together – the only district in Alaska where that’s happened. KPEA represents the district’s 569 certified employees, including teachers. KPESA represents the district’s 493 classified employees, like secretaries and custodians.
Last year, the unions and district reached a one-year contract extension that included 3.5% raises for certified staff and 6% raises for support staff. This year, KPESA President Susanna Litwiniak says the groups have different priorities, so it makes sense to bargain separately.
The contract proposal from the teacher’s union proposes a 22% raise for their employees, and would set an April 1 deadline for layoff notices. It would also double the amount of money teachers get for classroom supplies – to $500 – and give them two more days of personal leave per year.
Derek Ratliff teaches fifth grade at Aurora Borealis Charter School in Kenai and presented the teacher’s union proposal.
“When I tell you that that’s a 22% increase, that’s not based on a hypothetical what a teacher deserves – that’s a number that teachers are making in this state,” he said.
Ratliff said Wednesday that the percentage reflects a combination of policies in other districts that net teachers more money, including higher salaries, retirement contributions and cheaper health insurance.
Ratliff says the focus of their team’s proposal is recruitment and retention of employees – something the district and others around the state are struggling with.
“With inflation and the housing prices as they go up, new teachers coming to this area can’t afford to lay down roots,” he said. “And if you can’t afford to purchase a house, why are you coming?”
The support staff proposal asks for a 15% raise and a more generous sick leave policy. That’s on top of and a complete reorganization of the contract structure. The district’s bargaining team balked at the proposal’s format, which their lawyers said was “immensely difficult to review and negotiate.” Litwiniak, the association president, said Tuesday their team resubmitted a revised version of the document after the meeting.
Joshua Girard is taking the lead on bargaining for the support staff union. He highlighted their proposed sick leave policy, which would give new employees 12 days worth of sick leave immediately upon hire.
“We're asking for more sick leave and have it front loaded so that new hires don't have to come to work sick and make everyone else sick,” he said. “This is an issue that we run into very often lately.”
The district’s proposal doesn’t include salary increases for either group, with its bargaining team citing “substantial uncertainty” about the district’s financial future. The district is facing a $17 million budget deficit and – like others around Alaska – is waiting to see if state lawmakers will send them any more money this session. That shortfall doesn’t include any expenses resulting from contract negotiations.
“We're not proposing a change in the salary schedule at this time because we don't have a proposal yet,” said Michael Caulfield, the district’s attorney. “It's something that we are going to be posing down the line. Right now, the budget is still being created.”
None of the proposals submitted by either group or the school district discuss employee health care. The three groups will bargain together on that issue in the future.
Both unions said they want to resolve negotiations sooner than later. But scheduling conflicts pushed the next round of meetings to mid-March.
Ratliff, the fifth-grade teacher, says a drawn-out bargaining process could have consequences.
“My worry is, putting this out so far, is that people are looking to leave the school district,” he said. “I mean, teachers are – they’re looking at moving. And, I’ll be honest with you, I’m worried about that.”
The next round of negotiations between the groups will be open to the public. More information about both groups can be found on their shared website. All of the contract proposals are available on the school district’s website.
