Commissioners approve 3-year labor contract for Douglas County Youth Center teachers; starting pay increases noted

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners approved Resolution H on April 29, authorizing a three-year collective bargaining agreement between Douglas County and the Youth Center Education Association covering teacher classifications at the Douglas County Youth Center for the period Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027. The resolution was approved as part of the consent agenda and the consent motion passed 7–0.

Marco C. Martin of Douglas County Administration summarized the contract, saying it implements new wage scales for calendar year 2025 with the intent of improving recruitment and retention. He described the starting pay levels discussed in the meeting: general education and physical education starting pay listed as $30.11 and special education starting pay listed as $32.20 (units not specified in the meeting backup). “Primarily, it does implement some new wage scales. And in particular, 2025 has some substantial increases for teachers,” Marco said.

Sheriff Mark, representing the Douglas County Youth Center, told commissioners the facility has struggled to replace educators since the COVID-19 pandemic and has been short by roughly three teachers over the past three and a half years. He said the youth center currently has eight teachers (and one career-center staff person) and that the authorized complement is 10 teachers. “With the one that we’ve just hired, we would need two more,” Sheriff Mark said. He estimated the facility had 95 youth in residence on the day of the meeting and described the roughly 8–9:1 student-teacher ratio that would result if the center reached its authorized staff level.

Commissioner Borgeson asked whether the costs of the contract are borne by county taxpayers. A county representative replied the costs are picked up by the state, not county taxpayers, and the board discussion moved on without further change to the resolution.

Resolution H and the consent agenda were approved without separate roll-call discussion on the contract terms; the board recorded a unanimous passage of the full consent package.