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District urges renewal of teacher-pay referendum, warns of pay cuts without it
Summary
Pasco Schools officials told the council a local referendum funds teacher pay and that failing to renew it could mean a roughly 12% cut to teacher pay; district credited the referendum with sharp decreases in classroom, custodial and bus-driver vacancies.
District officials asked the council to be prepared for community outreach around an upcoming referendum that renews a local property-tax measure funding teacher pay. The presenter said the referendum is on a four-year renewal cycle and that without it the district would face a 12% cut to teachers' pay; the speaker described the item as a $67,000,000 budget line and warned of staff attrition to neighboring counties if the funding lapsed.
Officials also pointed to operational improvements tied to the funding: classroom vacancies fell from 314 on the first day in a prior year to 55 last year, custodial vacancies dropped from 80 to 16, and bus-driver vacancies declined from 63 to 17 as of the day before the meeting, the presenter said. "Without that referendum, our teachers will get a 12% pay cut," the presenter said, urging continued voter support and noting legal limits on governmental advocacy during campaigns.
