COEUR d’ALENE — Contract talks continued Friday in Coeur d’Alene as school board and teachers union negotiators grappled over how to spend $2.1 million in new state funding for salaries.

The session, held at Woodland Middle School, attracted 80-100 classified workers, non-union employees who do not hold education credentials but who fill a variety of support positions like secretaries, maintenance workers and crossing guards.

The support employees wore yellow shirts, jackets and scarves and held yellow signs stating the various positions they fill. Large yellow posters were placed directly in front of the bargaining tables.

“CLASSIFIED. Don’t let us down, our expenses go up too,” stated one poster.

The session began with the school board’s negotiating team rejecting an earlier proposal by the Coeur d’Alene Education Association — the local chapter of the state teachers union. That proposal, made the last time the groups met on June 1, included a 3.5 percent salary increase for teachers and other credentialed workers like school nurses, psychologists and counselors. The proposal also called for the school district to cover a $392,597 rate increase for the employee health insurance plan, along with a $750 “longevity stipend” for teachers with 20 years and an additional $750 at 25 years.

After three hours of negotiations, the session ended with school board negotiators offering a 1 percent salary hike for all employees and an agreement that the school district will cover the cost of a $392,597 rate increase for the employee health insurance plan. The offer does not include any additional funds for longtime teachers. The total cost of that settlement package, according to the school board’s team, is $1.5 million. The groups parted ways and agreed to meet again next week.

The teachers contend the school district should spend more of the $2.1 million in new salary revenue from the state on salaries.

“All across the state we’re looking at averages of 3 percent raises and benefit costs covered. We think that this staff deserves better than what’s being offered. It’s very frustrating,” said Tim Sandford, the teachers’ lead negotiator, in response to one of the board’s counter-offers during Friday’s session.“...the state gave $2.15 million to address existing staff salary. That was additional money. You also got an additional $1 million in discretionary funding and what we’re being offered is $1.3 million for the entire staff. We can’t go there.”

For the last two years, the two groups have not been able to settle the teachers contract through collective bargaining. Each year, a federal mediator had to be called in to reach a settlement.

The mediated contract in 2014 included a 0.5 percent base salary increase for all district employees, not just teachers. There was no change to the health insurance co-payment amount or the coinsurance responsibility, but there was a reduction of the district’s contribution to the family health insurance premium by 1 percent to 68 percent.

Through mediation in 2015, teachers received raises ranging from 1.75 percent to 11.75 percent. Those raises were distributed mainly through the district’s salary grid which provides compensation based on years of service and education advancement. Most employees holding education credentials received 3-7 percent raises. The district’s non-union employees received 1 percent raises in 2015. It was the first time in decades that raises were not equal for all employees.

Following the last negotiation session on June 1, the school district’s classified employees sent memos with dozens of signatures to the school board’s negotiating team.

“It has come to our attention that the CEA team is negotiating only for certified staff members (those with education credentials) and are disregarding the ranks of the classified staff districtwide. This is the second year this tactic has been initiated,” stated most of the memos. “Classified staff members make up more than half of the district workforce and are equally as important and should be valued as certified staff members are... This request is for the district negotiating team to advocate for the members of the classified ranks in order to receive equal compensation as negotiated by both teams.”

When Friday’s negotiating session began, Trina Caudle, the district’s director of secondary education and the board’s lead negotiator, made a statement on behalf of the team. She said negotiations by the board’s team must reflect several priorities, including no deficit spending and to honor the board’s commitment to the community to use levy dollars approved by voters in March 2015 to reduce class sizes and purchase new textbooks and classroom materials.

The final priority Caudle listed was to treat all employees equally regarding increases or changes in salary and benefits.

Following Friday’s session, Brian Wallace, the school district’s finance director, said Coeur d’Alene already spends more on teacher salaries than the district receives from the state.

“We spend, for just teachers, $12,715 more per teacher than the state funds us,” Wallace said, adding the school board could use the new $2.1 million to bridge that gap.

But they won’t, he said, because the district anticipates hiring 12 new teachers for next year, in response to the commitment made to the community to reduce classroom sizes. The funds for those salaries will come from the 2015 levy and the new salary funds from the state, he said, leaving less for salary increases.

“If we’re in this pattern of deficit spending, and all of our new revenues went to increases for staff, then I can’t stop the deficit spending because I have no revenues to bridge the deficit gap,” Wallace said.