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Negotiations stall as Topeka Public Schools and bargaining unit trade salary and insurance offers
Summary
Bargaining representatives and district negotiators exchanged competing salary and insurance proposals — the district offering a 2.315% base-plus-step plan and the union countering with 3% across the board — and paused talks to caucus with both sides citing budget constraints and differing priorities.
The bargaining session between Topeka Public Schools representatives and the certified bargaining unit focused on competing salary and health-insurance proposals, with both sides describing their numbers as the most they can offer under current budget constraints.
The district’s presenter said the district’s counter would apply a 2.315% increase to the base and add an additional bottom step so every employee receives at least step movement. “We were fortunate before Mister Minkie left to be able to have his report on the budget and output for next year,” the Agency official said, explaining the district’s calculation and its fiscal limits. The district supplied preliminary cost estimates of $1,775,718 for salary adjustments and $2,205,960 for the health-insurance increase, totaling just under $4 million for those two items.
The bargaining side proposed a different approach: a 3% across-the-board increase to each cell of the salary schedule, combined with a trade-off of two duty days (moving from a 190-day contract toward 188 days) to balance total compensation. A union representative urged the district to present figures that would be ratifiable by members and said many teachers do not think the district’s offer is sufficient.
Both sides discussed the projected employee impact of the insurance change. The district’s presenter outlined that for Plan C (employee-only), the smallest annual increase an employee would see was estimated at $1,738 and that the district’s contribution would vary by plan. The bargaining side presented a bargaining-unit-specific estimate for insurance increases of $837,003.99 and said combined with their salary proposal the additional cost would be about $2,613,000 for the unit’s group alone.
District representatives said the budget is constrained by projected enrollment declines and fund shifts; one district official noted the district expects a reduction of roughly 275 FTE equivalents, which offsets much of any state-per-pupil aid increase. The district said its figures reflect what it can responsibly bring to the table.
Negotiators agreed to caucus and resume after a break; the session paused without a final agreement on salary or benefits.
Next procedural step: both sides left to caucus and planned to reconvene the negotiations the following day.
