By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Negotiating teams for the Hays USD 489 Board of Education and the Hays National Education Association met again Thursday to work on teacher contracts for the 2015-16 school year. While several areas of the contract remain up for discussion, negotiators for the district said just reality is hampering progress — there is not enough money to give both sides what they want.
Greg Schwartz, former school board member still serving as board negotiator, opened the meeting informing the HNEA team members there is approximately $130,000 cushion in the budget – far less than needed to fund the HNEA’s current requests. He did however offer the possibility of bonuses if money remained in the coffers, but could not guarantee it would be available.
Kathy Wagoner, HNEA co-chairwoman, wanted to know where the money from teacher attrition had gone, asking the BOE team, “Where are your priorities that none of that money is not coming back to us?”
Tracy Kaiser, executive director of finance and support services, explained that rising health insurance costs, retirement costs and other employment increases had absorbed those extra funds.
Wagoner also wanted to know why state block grant funds could not be shifted to salary and was given a quick response from USD 489 Superintendent Dean Katt.
“There isn’t any to move,” he said.
Schwartz pointed out other areas of the district are in need of funding, as well, suggesting to the HNEA team that with current state of the districts facilities, money must be allocated there, especially if taxpayers are going to be asked to support repairs.
“If your buildings are falling down, teachers aren’t going to be here either,” he said. “The boards goal here is they looked at numerous ways within the current contract to carve out some … benefits that aren’t offered at most places of employment.
“It’s a fixed income. Like somebody that retires, they have to live within their means,” he added.
The amount to fund one step of vertical pay increases would cost the district $115,000 that would be taken out of the $130,00 available. However, funding that full amount could cause the district to find themselves in a situation in which layoffs would need to occur and is against the recommendation of state auditors.
“What the auditors recommend was at a minimum one month of reserves, that’s $3.5 million, they really said ideally you would have three, so your at $10.5 million,” he said.
“This is what Tracy is telling us we have to work with, and this is too close to give that money you want,” said Sarah Rankin, board member.
“The last time we had to lay off teachers, we came to the union and said we can do an across-the-board pay cut off all staff that would save these jobs, and you guys went to your membership said we wouldn’t consider any pay cut,” Schwartz said. “When they have to fire three, four or five teachers to make budget, I assume the teachers won’t be happy about that.”
In the past, at least one raise was passed that was found later to push the district over budget, something the current board said is fiscally irresponsible.
“If they did things the way … it happened in the past, yeah, they could borrow from next year and keep pushing down the road, but you just can’t do that,” Schwartz said.
If the vertical raise was offered, it would deplete this year’s buffer to approximately $15,000 — the equivalent of someone making $50,000 budgeting everything but $150 for the entire year, Schwartz said.
While the board and the administration is taking steps to stabilize the budget, many of the suggested cuts will not create immediate results.
“We’re trying to free up dollars, and most of what we have talked about unfortunately doesn’t free enough immediately,” Rankin said.
One of the areas in which the board is trying to save money to be used for raises is sick leave accumulation payout.
Adding a limit on the accumulated sick leave would give the board a known number, ultimately limiting financial liability, Rankin said.
Both teams are near agreement on the amount of days that can be acquired.
The current plan being discussed would grandfather in anyone currently over 20 years of service at a payout of $65 per day accumulated, up to 100 days, minus 20, and puts a staggered system in place that reward long-term service, but sets caps on day that can be accumulated.
The HNEA is hesitant to accept the plan, however, as they want guarantees that money saved will be used for pay increases.
“We’re hesitant not make some of those changes if those raises brought up never materialize,” said Kim Schneweis, HNEA co-chairwoman.
“The board would be foolish to guarantee that far out on that many issues,” Schwartz said, noting if the HNEA got the raises it wants now, they would be unsustainable.
Another option still being pursued to save costs is cutting retirement insurance benefits as early as next year.
The board does not have exact numbers for savings if retirement insurance is cut but offered over the next five years they would be willing to guarantee it would go to pay increases.
The HNEA team was hesitant on that point, as well.
“I don’t see how we could sell one year, and it’s over,” Wagoner said.
The last issue discussed at the meeting was the number of work days required for teachers.
“It’s disheartening to me as a parent to hear … years ago, we took those days out of the schedule and they never got added back,” Rankin said. “That robs my students and the students of the district.”
The HNEA has contended increased work should result in increased pay, but Schwartz argued that, as salaried employees, most people have much higher work hour expectations.
“We’re one of the lowest in student contact days,” Rankin said. Because of this, she said “my students are disadvantaged being in Hays, Kansas.”
The next negotiating meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Rockwell Administration Center