The Prosser School District Board approved a ratification package with the Prosser Education Association that makes several contract clarifications, including assignment and transfer language, how staff development funds may be used, and introductory language about use of artificial intelligence.

Superintendent Kim Casey said the changes clean up previously negotiated language and preserve the underlying compensation schedule while clarifying how and when payments are made. Casey described the $500 staff development stipend as intended for registration or course costs rather than travel or meal reimbursement: “The $500 ... cannot pay for travel, flights, meals, so on and so forth. So we’re hoping that the $500 really is for the cost of the class, cost of the registration,” she said.

The package also updates calendar language that previously referenced local events and removes a specific start‑date clause that had conflicted with the Ben Franklin Fair in some years. District staff explained the change was intended to avoid pushing the school year start late in years when Labor Day falls later on the calendar.

On the topic of artificial intelligence, administrators said they included preliminary language to allow the district and the union to address AI use going forward and to prepare for public‑records implications. Casey said the district expects state and large districts to publish guidance first and that the district will “piggyback” on sample policies before proposing a local policy.

The board approved the package by voice vote; staff said the changes will be documented in the collective bargaining records and implemented as specified in the ratification materials.