Royal School District staff still working without a contract, talks ongoing

by Chanet Stevenson
| December 2, 2017 12:00 AM

ROYAL CITY — The Royal School Board meeting saw a packed house Monday evening as negotiations over the Collective Bargaining Agreement between teachers and the Royal School District remain ongoing.

About 50 teachers, along with various community members and students were in attendance; some there to observe, and others there for an opportunity to voice concerns and questions. Many also wore red attire in support of the teachers.

Teachers, and all certified staff-councilors, psychologists, and education coaches in the Royal School District are currently working without a contract as an agreement on compensation could not be made when negotiations first began back in May.

Royal School District business manager, Greg Pike, gave a presentation on where school funding comes from, showing that 75 percent is state funded, 10 percent is federal money, local levy/revenue generates 8 percent of the funding, and state levy equalization makes up the remaining 7 percent.

“That’s out of a total budget of about $21 million,” Pike said.

He also explained that while teacher salaries and benefits should be covered by state funding, the Royal School District, along with other school districts, are currently using local levies to cover the cost.

Data presented over a three-year time span showed the Royal School district used 34.2 percent of local revenue in the 2014-15 school year, 40.7 percent in 2015-16, and 43.9 percent in 2016-17 to cover teacher wages. Pike also explained that the state legislature is currently working to get back into compliance of having state funding cover basic education.

The district’s general fund balance, which is basically surplus from year to year, has increased over the last 10 years to be just over $3.5 million Pike said. One of the factors that has contributed to that number being higher is an increase in enrollment which has in turn also increased the districts expenses, resources and needs.

How is the fund balance allocated? A big chunk is for payroll and reserve, Pike explained, which includes funds for fixing up the field turf in the near future which the district has been saving towards. Other pieces include restricted funds that the district cannot touch, and lastly for unexpected emergencies.

Tanya Wood, who has been an employee for the Royal School District for about 17 years, kicked off the community input portion of the meeting.

Wood said she commutes to Royal City each day to work in the district, and has turned down opportunities to work in other school districts up to this point. But this year she has begun to question whether the Royal School District is still right for her and her family.

“Is Royal School District committed to making sure that we have the best interest of our students in mind? Not just in sports, but in the classroom as well?” she asked.

Wood went on to say that in the last four years 52 of 100 teaching positions in the Royal School District turned over. She also voiced concern for offering teachers competitive packages and training to retain an experienced workforce, matching those offered in similar, neighboring school districts to combat the high turnover rate.

“Why not invest in our students and teachers,” she said. “It’s not a gamble, it’s a sound investment.”

Community members Cara Hoyt, Connie Christensen, Keith Hebdon and Tiffany Workinger also addressed the board.

Hoyt strongly urged both teachers and administrators to come to a compromise, citing her concern that a strike from teachers would impact students in a negative way. She also asked that if the compensation comparisons are being made to schools similar to Royal, then are those districts also able to save the same amount of surplus/savings dollars as the Royal School District?

Along those same lines, Workinger questioned whether district administrators were making comparable wages to those in surrounding school districts as well. Christensen wanted to know when was the last time teachers were given raises from the school district itself, not just from the state.

Hebdon thanked the teachers, pointing out that all of his kids have grown up attending school in Royal and he feels the teachers deserve a raise.

“We don’t have to be the richest, but we don’t have to be last,” he said.

With negotiations still ongoing, the school board was unable to answer all of the questions during the meeting, but assured attendees their questions would be answered at a later time.

An exact date on when a decision-agreement will be made by has also not yet been set.