Teachers protest outside D91 after salary negotiations resume

IDAHO FALLS — One 100 30 teachers and supporters gathered extracurricular of nan Idaho Falls School District 91 management agency Tuesday evening, sporting reddish shirts and waving signs successful guidance to a projected costs frost offered by nan district.

The protestation follows a breakdown successful negotiations Thursday, erstwhile teachers walked retired of nan negotiating room aft receiving an connection for a 0% raise from nan district’s bargaining team.

“We started astatine a zero point. Last week successful nan district, they wanted to springiness america nothing. We’ve received zero raise,” said Jake Snarr, Idaho Falls Education Association lead negotiator and a set head astatine Taylorview Middle School.

Superintendent Karla LaOrange explained nan statement negotiations are nan continuation of a process that began successful September.

“We’re trying to thief amended things for teachers truthful that they tin amended meet nan needs of students. We’ve made a batch of advancement location and person tentative statement connected 16 different items — truthful that’s a lot,” she said. “Then, past week, we started our financial negotiations.”

Teachers expressed their vexation pinch nan district’s starting connection to supply nary costs summation during a clip of rising rent, costs of surviving and ostentation — peculiarly erstwhile nan authorities is providing a one-time $3.14 cardinal costs successful spread backing that was not included successful nan district’s fund anterior to its caller cuts.

“We person a batch of money coming successful — that spread backing coming successful — fundamentally person $7 cardinal connected nan table, supra what we had past twelvemonth successful a discretionary money, successful savings from security and precocious allocations, and successful nan spread funding, truthful to travel successful and opportunity teachers are worthy $0, it was was beautiful hard,” Idaho Falls Education Association President Julie Nawrocki said.

Both sides met again Monday afternoon, wherever nan Idaho Falls Education Association speech squad made an opening connection of a 5% raise, “an summation to nan extracurricular stipend schedule … and memorandums of knowing calling for $150,000 (total district-wide) successful activity salary (at $30 an hour), a $250 one-time costs successful November” and asking for nan retention of 4 clerical positions and a graduation advocator position astatine Idaho Falls and Skyline High Schools, on pinch 2 assets room full-time employees, according to teacher’s relation documents.

Following a 20-minute caucus aliases region wherever nan management and nan teacher’s relation speech teams met separately to scope their adjacent decisions, nan territory countered pinch an connection of nary costs increase, while granting “steps and lanes” successful nan teacher’s net schedule. Lanes correspond increases successful salary for level of education, while steps are salary increases for years of experience.

The territory and teachers’ speech teams meet together Monday to activity toward an statement connected nan 2024-2025 maestro contract.

The teacher’s relation later returned pinch an connection for a 4% increase.

“The net schedule pinch 4% added is estimated to beryllium a full costs of $37,237,910.28, which includes a territory publication of $5,313,281.11. This territory publication would correspond an summation of $623,716.08 complete nan existent contribution,” Snarr wrote successful an email to nan committee of trustees Tuesday.

District Finance Manager Lanell Farmer said nan committee has prioritized building up nan district’s reserve fund, which will scope a projected equilibrium of of $7.5 cardinal connected July 1 astatine nan commencement of nan fiscal year.

LaOrange said it is basal nan territory person capable costs successful reserve to meet its monthly obligations.

“Our payroll runs astir $5.5 to $6 cardinal a month. You person to return that into information that we person immoderate money we person to salary nan labor first and past get reimbursed,” she said.

But not each nan teachers bought into that argument.

“I consciousness for illustration it’s a really aggravated situation, and some sides person a batch of bully things to offer, but it’s besides disappointing to perceive teachers being talked astir this way. … It’s almost emotion for illustration teachers are being presented arsenic not worthy nan money that nan territory has,” said Bailey Reed, a fifth-grade coach astatine Westside Elementary.

The committee of trustees met Tuesday evening to see nan coach association’s proposal. Both sides are hopeful that a solution tin beryllium reached astatine a Wednesday gathering which starts astatine 4:15 p.m. astatine territory headquarters. Trustees Shay Ricks, Paul Haacke and Jeremy Westwood said pinch nan teachers extracurricular Tuesday earlier entering nan building successful executive session.

Teachers stitchery to rally support pursuing a projected net frost from School District 91.