Geary County Schools proposes $800 across-the-board base increase; union seeks wider hourly and event pay changes

Geary County Schools negotiators presented a compensation package that adds $800 to every cell on the district salary schedule and includes longevity and supplemental recommendations; district staff said the total cost of the proposals is “a little over a million 5,” which negotiators described in meeting remarks as approximately $1.5 million.

The district’s presentation laid out a package combining base increases, vertical and horizontal movement funding, longevity and supplements. Tim, district negotiations staff, summarized the package and said the district also included longevity (eligible after 16 years of consecutive service) and a sunset provision tied to the end of ESSER funding. Tim said the $800 across-the-board addition and the other salary changes would produce “about a little over a million 5” in cost when vertical and horizontal movement and supplements are combined.

Why it matters: pay adjustments and how they are structured determine how much money goes into each step of the salary schedule, who benefits from raises and how much remains for supplements. Both sides said they will need line-item spreadsheets and personnel-level calculations to reconcile the district’s posted numbers and the union’s cost estimates.

Details of the district package and union response

- The district told negotiators it had structured the proposal to raise the base and retain as much money as possible for the salary schedule while funding some supplemental increases; Tim described a $2,402–$2,404 raise to certain supplemental bases that the district estimated would cost about $40,000.

- The district said that when it adds the $800 across cells together with projected vertical and horizontal movement and longevity, the total package is roughly $1.5 million (described in the meeting as “a little over a million 5”). The district also said the payroll effect includes both movement along the schedule and movement across cells.

- The JCEA (the union) countered with proposals to raise hourly rates for non-contract work, asking to set most after-hours and event compensation at $35 per hour, increase coverage pay to $45 per hour, and explicitly permit vouchers or contract language to compensate teachers who complete planning tasks outside contracted hours. The union packet also included a proposed extraordinary rate for mandated lost planning time; the draft language presented in the meeting called for compensation “at a rate of $500 per hour” when a teacher must make up planning work outside the duty day because of mandated duties (the union said this is intended for cases where planning time was lost to mandatory IEPs, 504 meetings, coverage or similar duties).

- The board side asked the union for spreadsheets showing how its requested dollar amounts and percentages would be calculated at the employee level; union leaders asked for the district’s salary-detail spreadsheet to reconcile totals.

What was not decided

No final agreement or formal vote occurred on salary, supplements or hourly rates at the session. Both sides agreed to exchange detailed spreadsheets showing per-employee effects and to meet again. The district asked the union to email a detailed list of the specific line items it wanted; the union requested the district send the personnel-level salary/insurance figures so both sides can cost proposals consistently.

Ending

Negotiations will continue after both sides exchange the requested spreadsheets and cost detail. The board said it would circulate the full salary schedule and related calculations in the team share used for negotiations; the union said it would review and return with written counterlanguage where needed.