District and Cultural Family Advocates head to mediation over wages and benefits

District negotiators told the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board on Jan. 13 that tentative agreement has been reached on several contract items with the Cultural Family Advocates (CFAs), but wages and benefits remain unresolved and are headed to mediation.

Shelley Munson, director of human resources, said bargaining began in May 2024 and that the CFA bargaining unit (represented by Dakota County Cultural Family Advocates, Local 7390 of Education Minnesota) covers 22 CFAs who support elementary and secondary schools. Munson said the union's current proposal of a 6% salary increase each year exceeds the parameters the board established for district negotiations (a framework Munson described as 3.5% to salary schedule, 12% and 8% increases to health insurance across two years, and a $100 increase to the 403(b) match).

"Remaining at issue are really our financial items," Munson said, specifying wages and benefits as unsettled.

Munson said the district completed a market comparison across 10 metro districts and found the district ranks at or above average on total compensation both at entry and top levels. She also noted that almost half of CFAs carry family coverage and that district insurance contribution for family coverage can exceed $30,000 annually for an employee.

The union has filed for mediation; the district said the first mediation session was scheduled for Jan. 14 and that additional sessions could follow. Munson said administration remains committed to bargaining in good faith and hopes mediation will produce a resolution.

Ending: The board heard the update as an informational item; no formal action was taken at the meeting. Mediation outcomes and any tentative agreement will be reported to the board when available.