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District says teacher-negotiation season underway; staffing realignment to rely largely on attrition
Summary
District finance staff reported ongoing work on the 2025–26 salary and personnel budget and said a teacher negotiation session is scheduled for March 4; personnel adjustments to align staffing with enrollment are expected to be largely met through attrition, with administrators saying programs and services are not scheduled for cuts.
Ken, district finance staff, updated the committee that budget work for fiscal 20252626 is focused on personnel costs and salary negotiations. He said teacher negotiations will convene in early March and that the outcome of those talks will affect other employee groups and overall personnel planning.
Lee, staff member (personnel), told the committee the district is preparing a staffing-realignment plan for elementary, middle and high schools to better match staffing ratios with current enrollment. Lee said the district's preliminary analysis indicates roughly 80% of projected reductions could be achieved through attrition rather than layoffs. He also told the committee that the district is not proposing cuts to programs or services as part of this staffing realignment.
Why it matters: personnel costs are the largest portion of a school districtbudget. How the district manages retirements, vacancies and negotiated salary increases will affect class sizes, program delivery and long-term operating costs.
Key details: - Negotiations: staff reported a full-session meeting for teacher negotiations scheduled for March 4; district leaders said they could not release negotiation positions while bargaining is active. - Cost assumptions: staff provided scenarios for non-capital object costs using 0%, 1%, 2% and 3% increases; 3% was highlighted because current published CPI is about 3%. - Supplies and services: staff said holding supplies and materials to a 0% increase is a goal but likely difficult due to inflation and contract renewals, particularly for busing contracts that include inflation factors. - Staffing: Lee said the district aims to rely on attrition; the projection that roughly 80% of reductions could be met through attrition is preliminary and conditioned on upcoming retirement notices (March 15 deadline) and ongoing market movements for teachers.
Committee members asked whether staffing realignment would affect program offerings; staff replied that programs and services are not scheduled for cuts at this time.
Next steps: staff will present proposed staffing levels and a more complete budget at the larger policy and personnel committee meeting; negotiations will proceed on the scheduled timeline.
