It took seven sessions and several months, but the Post Falls School District and the Post Falls Education Association reached agreement over the summer on teacher contracts for the 2023-2024 school year.

Certified employees will receive a 3% pay raise and a $1,000 stipend in their November paychecks. Although they cannot be negotiated for under state law, classified staff also will receive pay increases to help the district stay competitive with surrounding districts and market conditions.

"The nice thing about the 3% is, everyone benefits," said Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Trina Caudle, who serves as the lead negotiator on behalf of the district and Post Falls School Board.

Negotiations started in April, continued through June and resumed in July with a tentative agreement reached July 20. The final contract agreement was signed July 26. The negotiating was conducted using a traditional "meet and confer" method. In states where employers are not legally required to collectively bargain with unions and choose not to, they may discuss issues and solicit input through this negotiation style.

Post Falls will receive roughly $2.5 million in additional funding as a result of the enhanced K-12 public schools appropriations promoted by Gov. Brad Little and approved by the Legislature, Post Falls Superintendent Dena Naccarato told The Press.

"This funding will pay for the salary and benefits increases for staff and cover the funding cliff created by one-time federal relief funds sunsetting," she said. "For the past several years, state funding has been based on enrollment. Now state funding has reverted back to average daily attendance which made approximately $115 (million) of the $300 million in new appropriations unavailable to school districts."

Starting salary for teachers in the district is $46,000. The average for teachers is $62,146.

"Post Falls' salary schedule was and still is incredibly competitive," Naccarato said. "To compare a percentage increase in one year without looking at district settlements in prior years does not adequately tell the story."

Caudle said the change from a five-day school week to a four-day week was a challenge as negotiations took place.

"It sounds simple ... but it’s actually very complex," she said. "We had to lengthen the school day and the school year."

She said mixed messages from the state level also prolonged the process.

"The big key was whether we were going to be funded on average daily attendance or student enrollment," Caudle said. "A lot of it was waiting until we had some clarity."

She said both teams were pleased with the outcome of the negotiation sessions. This year's contracts also include more time for teacher collaboration as well as stipend increases for acquiring master's ($3,500) and doctorate degrees ($7,000).

"We all felt really really good about it," Caudle said. "We want to make sure we’re honoring our valuable employees."

Ponderosa Elementary teacher Jake Smulkowski was the lead negotiator for the Post Falls Education Association. He said the association is grateful for its relationship with the Post Falls School District.

"It was a challenge to work through conflicting messages from the state," he said. "Promises were made about historic wage increases for educators, but the switch from student enrollment to attendance as the primary driver of education funding has stretched every district in the state and led to further reliance on levies as a means of funding education. This leads to schools being funded differently, based on their zip codes."

Visit hr.pfsd.com and click on "HR links" to view the full negotiated agreement.