Teachers Rally Against Pay Cuts as North Wasco School District Grapples with Fiscal Crisis
Photo: Ken Park
By Ken Park
The Dalles, Ore., April 29, 2024 – North Wasco County School District 21 (NWASCO D21), the second largest employer in The Dalles, and one of the largest employers in Wasco County is grappling with a notable funding deficit, having concluded the previous fiscal year with just over $21,000. The deficit has resulted in the need to make some challenging choices and conflicts with unions that may have far reaching consequences for the community in the upcoming 2024/2025 school year.
More than 120 teachers and staff members from various schools within the district crowded into The Dalles Middle School cafeteria on Thursday, April 25, to oppose recently proposed reductions in teacher and staff salaries and urge the School Board to engage in negotiations.
Slyvia Brock, Co-President of Northwest Education Support Professionals and several others spoke out about the issue.
“First off we want to thank our fellow union members, 120 of them are here tonight–As many of you know the district has some issues that we need to address, we have brought them to you many times, yet they remain unresolved,”said Slyvia Brock, Co-President of Northwest Education Support Professionals.
Brock was joined by District 21 Education Association President Jodi Ketchum who noted the board had been warned by the district's previous Chief Financial Officer of the looming financial crisis.
Photo: Ken Park
“This problem was not created by our staff, it was created by a district leadership not heeding the warnings of our CFO and a lack of funding from the state,” Ketchum said. “We were all told by our previous CFO in our bargaining last year and at every budget report we were headed off a cliff. We hoped that more would have been done to heed that advice, yet here we are in a financial crisis.”
Ketchum also criticized the district for thier recent hesitancy to engage directly with the unions, teachers, and staff during contract renewal, a practice previously adhered to.
“In our opinion and what has been done in the past, the first step would be for the district to come to both union leaders with the facts of the financial situation and then allow us to come to the table and negotiate fairly in a collaborative, problem-solving, way as we have done,” Ketchum said. “Instead of the district coming to us with this issue, we were served with a letter that stated that they would be opening bargaining, in a manner that would violate our bargaining rights.”
Ketchum further elaborated that along with the letter, the unions, and teachers were informed of the district's proposed mandates, emphasizing that this approach was not conducive to the bargaining process preferred by the unions.
Photo: Ken Park
“We were told verbally what three things they would like to impose upon us and with this form of bargaining. After 90 days, if we did not reach a mutual agreement, they could impose cuts to our contracts,” Ketchum said.
Those three things allegedly included changes to terms of teacher and staff salary, and insurance benefits among other costs that would impact teachers and staff contracts.
Both unions responded with a letter stating they would not bargain that way but were still willing to open a bargaining process.
”We were willing to open bargaining in our usual manner and willing to start very soon.” Ketchum said.
Ketchum proceeded to clarify that the unions received a subsequent letter indicating they had exceeded the 14-day response window to the initial letter, thereby forfeiting their bargaining rights and allowing the board to unilaterally alter the specified terms.
Photo: Ken Park
“We categorically reject the district's attempt to take away our bargaining rights. The district is being really aggressive and trying to box us in and not give us our rights. This will not work as you can see our members are here saying we will not stand for this. We are here to implore the district to operate in a transparent manner with us, as they have in the past.” Ketchum said.
Despite the alleged actions of the district, Ketchum said that the union is still interested in working with the district bargaining team but their trust in the district has been damaged.
“We want to collaborate with the district bargaining team and we want them to hear what our members have to say and consider their ideas. This form of good-faith bargaining is not only lawful, it strengthens our relationships,” Ketchum said. ”The attempt on the district's behalf, since April 1, to verbally inform us of what they wanted to impose, then serving us letters about taking our rights, has severely damaged that trust and it has left employees of the district feeling like they do not matter.”
Stephanie Bowen, Director of Communications for the North Wasco School District, addressed the district's financial shortfall in an April 26 email, highlighting key contributing factors.
Photo: Ken Park
“As with many school districts across both our region and our state, North Wasco County School District is confronting the complex intersection of declining enrollment, increased staffing needs, and the conclusion of federal COVID-19 relief funds,” Bowens said. “These factors have combined to create a significant budget shortfall for our district as we close out the school year and as we plan for 2024/2025.”
Bowen explained that enrollment numbers have been in decline for many years and that the COVID-19 pandemic added to the decline that the district has struggled to recover from.
Why did covid-19 hit the district so hard finanically? Well, the short answer is: enrollment numbers. Enrollment numbers serve as a snapshot of the number of students in each school in the district. Naturally, these numbers ebb and flow throughout the school year, but importantly the state pays the district based on the portion of the school year in which each student is enrolled.
Bowen explained that the enrollment numbers for the 2023/2024 school year were lower than originally calculated. The initial estimate, which was done in December 2022 was 2,889 enrolled students, however, attendance reports for the year show that only 2,769 students are currently enrolled.
“The original budget estimate for the State School Fund was $24.5 million. In late December this estimation increased slightly to $24.8 million based on the settlement of this year’s state school fund and our projected share from our original estimate…The reduction of 130 students resulted in the March State School Fund estimate to decline to $23.4 million,” Bowen said.
Photo: Ken Park
Bowen additionally explained that the district is reaching the end of the federal funds it received during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the State of Oregon has not been able to keep up in funding K-12 education, thus the district is having to reevaluate financial priorities
“In light of these circumstances, we have implemented a budget and hiring freeze as a prudent measure to manage our budget responsibly. While this is not a decision we want to make, it is essential to ensure the continued financial stability of our district and prioritize resources where they are needed most.” Bowen said. “We will continue to work diligently to explore alternative solutions and seek opportunities to mitigate the impact of these budget challenges on our educational programs and services, and what is in the best interest of students and staff.”
Another action the district is looking to take is reversing a decision it made in July of 2022 when it raised teacher and staff wages by 6% in exchange for teachers and staff being responsible for their own health insurance and retirement contributions, rather than the district.
Photo: Ken Park
“This made staff gross annual income increase, but net income (or take-home pay) decreased, as more was subsequently taken out to cover these contributions,” Bowen said. “In the past, the district paid these contributions. This change increased the associated payroll cost that the district pays by approximately $400,000. The district is proposing to reverse this change so that the district is again paying the staff contribution, effectively lowering payroll costs. In most cases, if not all, staff take-home pay would actually increase.”
Regardless, the news has come as a blow to many D21 staff. And some critics have pointed to the Districts' hiring choices, specifically hiring “too many admins” (administrative staff) who generally make more money than teachers, as a possible additional factor in the current funding squeeze. CCCNews reached out to the Superintendent and CFO for a financial breakdown of administrative staff costs but did not receive that specific information back.
In terms of negotiation with the teachers and staff unions, Bowens said that the district has asked to re-open negotiations with both unions in order to facilitate a mutual agreement
“We have examined various cost-saving scenarios and will be presenting these to the Union teams during the bargaining process,” Bowen said.
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