After six rounds of negotiations, the Eudora teachers union and the School Board have come to an agreement.
The School Board voted unanimously last week to approve the ratified negotiated agreement to add $2,000 to the base salary for teachers. This makes the new base salary $43,500.
The process is annual, but took longer this year with six rounds of negotiations between school board representatives and the negotiations team.
In the final round of negotiations, the union asked for $44,040 as the base salary, an increase of $2,540. The last contract had $41,500 as the base salary.
De Soto, Spring Hill, Gardner, Olathe, Wellsville and Tonganoxie have higher base salaries than Eudora. Baldwin is slightly lower than Eudora at $42,800, according to the ratification document sent to staff.
The board countered with $2,000, which is when the negotiations team took the offer to their bargaining unit for ratification. At the beginning of this year’s process, the board offered $1,500, lead negotiator Mallory Raugewitz-Blick said.
“Essentially, we thought that it represented enough movement that it was necessary for the bargaining unit to decide if they were satisfied with that amount or not,” Raugewitz-Blick said. “We felt that it was a high enough amount of money above what they had offered before that we didn’t feel we had the authority to just outright reject that offer. We wanted to know if the bargaining unit was satisfied with that.”
The vote got 92 responses: 80.4% voted yes, and 19.6% voted no to the offer.
Angie Brown is the Eudora NEA president, with Jack Low and Lisa Moffitt also participating in negotiations this year.
It’s standard operation to ask for an increase each year to account for cost-of-living increases and inflation, Raugewitz-Blick said. The increase on this year’s base salary does not dictate what it will ask for next year, though, she said.
“It sort of depends on what the district finances are going to look like and what the pay needs are looking like,” she said.
The team also advocated for an additional step at the bottom of the salary schedule for veteran teachers. Many longtime teachers were no longer able to move vertically on the schedule, and the new schedule allows for an additional step.
When a teacher reaches the last step based on years of experience on the salary schedule, they keep that salary forever, so this step gives them a $600 to $750 raise, Raugewitz-Blick said.
The union noted that neighboring districts had higher base salaries, with De Soto at $47,000, Olathe at $46,000 and Spring Hill at $47,000. By upping Eudora’s base salary, the union noted it may help with retention and recruitment during the national teacher shortage, according to a document provided by the union.
Superintendent Stu Moeckel said the board has constantly had the goal of recruiting and retention, and they know it’s about more than money.
“We know that’s not just about dollar signs. That’s about how we welcome people into our Cardinal family, as well as the many different things we try and do to award and reward employees for their efforts,” Moeckel said.
Board President Mark Chrislip said the board is constantly trying to make the district the most attractive to teachers, and pay is always one of those needs.
“I don’t think there’s anybody on the board who wouldn’t want to give the teachers as much as we can, but we are a poor district. We don’t have a lot of commercial tax base,” Chrislip said. “We give what we think we can, and then we do a lot of other things in the district so, I think, teachers have a good experience.”
Throughout the process, the union and the school board were both hopeful that there could be a resolution that would satisfy everyone.
Eudora NEA had to work to understand the funding streams coming to the district and make sure everyone was on the same page.
In a prior interview with the Eudora Times, Rebecca Killen, a spokesperson for Eudora NEA, said the team just wanted people to understand they were not asking for something unreasonable.
Raugewitz-Blick said that she was pleased with the engagement of teachers in the district. People asked questions, brought forward data and helped compare pay, she said.
“That was my number one goal as lead negotiator was to get our bargaining unit engaged with the process,” she said. “It was a difficult process, and it’s never easy if negotiation goes long. And I think that everybody managed that as best they could. “
The negotiation team also proposed changes to the supplemental positions, like coaching and other extracurricular programs outside of the regular contract.
The board did not agree to the revised schedule but wanted to create a committee to make changes to the salary schedule and discuss changes throughout the year, Raugewitz-Blick said. They also agreed to add a few supplemental positions to the schedule. The supplemental pay was not changed for anyone, she said.
The teacher’s union also requested an increase to the health defined benefit to cover a non-HSA single plan, but that was not an outcome they received.
The new contract will be effective through August 2024.
“I just want to say that I have never worked on a staff that I have liked being part of more than I love working in Eudora. I think we have incredible teachers in this district, and it’s an honor to represent them and to work on their behalf,” Raugewitz-Blick said.
Moeckel said they are pleased to have a successful completion to negotiations.
“After a lot of diligent discussion and collaboration, we’ve reached a mutually beneficial agreement,” he said. “It’s exciting to have that process completed so that we can get rolling into the school year and certainly reward our employees for all their hard work.”
Chrislip said he is glad they came to an agreement.
“I feel like the agreement will benefit the teachers and the district as well, and just looking forward to moving on,” he said.
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