The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and its two largest unions are at an impasse on salary negotiations. The groups already agree on some changes to the contract language. They’re bringing in a mediator to help resolve the disagreements and make recommendations.
There’s been little movement on the contracts’ financial components – namely, salaries and benefits. At the start of negotiations over a year ago, the two unions submitted contracts that asked for more than $15 million worth of raises for their employees. Both groups say the raises are necessary to provide competitive contracts that attract and keep quality employees in the district.
But the requests came as the district forecast a $17 million budget shortfall last year. This year, it’s trying to make up an $8.5 million shortfall. The unions’ initial ask is about five times the roughly $3 million that school board members have given the district to negotiate with this year.
In its latest offers, the district proposed a three-year contract with a 3-2-2 raise structure to both unions. Staff would get a 3% raise for the current school year, then 2% and 2% raises through the 2027-2028 school year.
The unions are proposing two-year agreements.
The Kenai Peninsula Educational Support Association, which represents about 525 employees like secretaries and custodians, is proposing a retroactive 4% raise for the current year and an additional 4% raise for the upcoming year.
The Kenai Peninsula Education Association, which represents about 540 certificated district employees like teachers, is proposing a retroactive 6% raise for the current year and an additional 5% raise for the upcoming year.
Rebecca Walker told KDLL she’s optimistic bringing in a mediator will make a difference. She’s president of the certificated staff union.
“They don't have skin in the game,” she said. “They're looking at the information from both sides and trying to find places where there is common ground that we can come together and make progress.”
Since last January, the three groups have met over a dozen times to hash out what should and should not change in employees’ existing contracts. The district is negotiating with the two unions separately – a change from the last time contracts were negotiated. Union heads say the change is because both groups have different priorities this time around.
Both groups have agreed with the district on dozens of changes.
For certificated staff, new contract language doubles the value of an employee’s life insurance and adds on-the-job assault to the types of injuries eligible for worker’s compensation. Other changes include allowing the union more opportunities to share membership information with new hires and boosting transparency surrounding employee evaluations.
On the support staff side, new contract language adds tribal council seats to the types of public office for which an employee may take limited unpaid leave and allows more employees to take an unpaid leave of absence. The changes also give fired staff more time to consider alternative employment options offered by the district and clarify that all employees are entitled to have a union representative at a meeting that could lead to disciplinary action.
Even if the district and two unions reach an agreement, it still needs support from union and school board members. Support staff union President Susanna Litwiniak said that’s a caveat that shouldn’t be discounted throughout the negotiation process.
“Whatever tentative agreement we come to, has to be voted on by the membership,” she said. “And so we have to take into account what the membership will accept when we're asking on salary – on the subject of salary, it always has to be taken into account what the membership will accept.”
Other financial components of the contracts, like cashing in unused personal leave, sick leave availability and discretionary classroom funds are also still being negotiated. Health care is unresolved, too. Among other things, the district is proposing to up its share of health care costs it pays, from 85% to 90%.
Last week, district Human Resources Director Nate Crabtree told KDLL it’s the latest change the district has made on the health care front.
“That reduced everybody's monthly premium by a little over 32%, which is significant,” he said. “And so while I know that we're still a bit away on salary, I really do think, and I do hope, that we're getting close, very close, on health care.”
While negotiations are underway, employees are operating under their existing contracts. Walker said Wednesday that a mediator has been retained, and that the three groups have several meetings scheduled for the coming weeks.
If mediation is successful, the unions and district will walk away with a tentative agreement. If mediation isn’t successful, the sides will move into arbitration, which is another process to try and find compromise.
