WTA proposes 2.95% base-wage increase; district and union outline continued use of teacher compensation system

Waunakee teachers, represented by the Waunakee Teachers Association (WTA), proposed a 2.95% increase to base wages during a human-resources negotiation session with district officials on the evening of the committee meeting. The WTA said it calculated the increase using the district's historical method (applying CPI to total teacher wages divided by FTE), producing an increase it estimated at $2,158 to the base wage per FTE.

The proposal was presented as part of broader bargaining priorities that include continuing to implement the district's multi-year teacher compensation system across the 2025-26 school year. District staff said they expect to continue the compensation system and noted prior joint work to design it.

Nut graf: The item matters because it affects pay for all teachers in the Waunakee Community School District and frames negotiations over compensation and district budget priorities for the upcoming school year.

WTA negotiators told the committee they expect the district to maintain the compensation system's structure when applying any base-wage adjustment. District representatives acknowledged that the compensation system has brought clarity and automaticity to pay calculations and said they value having that shared framework for future salary decisions.

The WTA proposal also anticipated an "equal distribution" approach in how the increase would be applied across salary lanes, phrased by the presenters as consistent with historical practice. District staff said supplemental pay proposals and particular supplemental-pay amounts were not part of the materials presented that night and indicated those items are typically handled outside of the base-wage calculation.

Ending: Negotiators agreed to exchange written proposals in open session before adjourning to closed session for formal bargaining; no final agreement was reached in the meeting.