D-91 budget negotiations recap
Noah Farley
UPDATED 10:38 a.m. Aug 18:
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Monday, August 18, is Back to School Night for School District #91, but it comes as the district and the Idaho Falls Education Association are still working on a contract.
In July, the Education Association said they were not happy with the budget D-91 presented to them.
Jake Snarr said the Education Association is trying to set up another meeting with D-91 to discuss contracts and budgeting. They are not planning to strike. Teachers will still be working when the new school year starts on Wednesday.
“Essentially, it was just a number that they put across the table. It was about $35.3 million. They’re saying that they’re okay with anything that we do within that $35.3 million, but it’s up to us to figure out where all that money goes,” said IFEA negotiator, Jake Snarr.
D-91 said the board proposed a different approach to the budget this year with a new method meant to let the Education Association decide how the money would be distributed.
“Giving that to the teachers to allocate in a way that they think would best meet their teachers’ needs,” said D-91 Superintendent Karla LaOrange. “So it is different, but it is still a proposal and one that has been used effectively in other districts.”
The organizations had another hours-long meeting on August 1, where D-91 reached a tentative wage agreement with teachers.
IFEA later voted to reject the proposal. On August 13, dozens of teachers and supporters gathered outside the Idaho Falls School District Office to express that they don’t feel valued or supported.
“We’ve made a number of proposals related to both financial and non-financial items,” Snarr said. “What we’re hearing from our members is both of those things are important. Through [these] negotiations, we have worked as a team to do what we can. But ultimately, this decision is up to our members.”
With a new school year upon us, D-91 and the teachers’ union are expected to resume their negotiations and try to come to a new agreement.