photo by: contributed

Members of the Personnel Association of Lawrence-Communication Workers of America, Local 6400, are pictured on Feb. 21, 2022, the first day of contract negotiations between the union and the school district.

The labor union representing the Lawrence school district’s paraeducators and other classified staff is asking the district to increase pay to a minimum of $15 per hour.

The school district began contract negotiations on Monday with the Personnel Association of Lawrence-Communication Workers of America, Local 6400, which represents the district’s paraeducators, custodians, food service workers, office staff and other employees.

PAL-CWA Interim President Hannah Allison-Natale, who is a paraeducator with the district, said that about 430 of the district’s 600 classified staff members are making less than $15 per hour. She said that in union surveys employees say they love their work, but many are struggling financially.

“One of the things that people most overwhelmingly said was that they love their job and they love their students, but they cannot keep working for such low wages,” Allison-Natale said. “Because they’re having to rely on public assistance, they’re having to work two or three jobs total because they don’t make enough money.”

Allison-Natale said some food service workers start under $11 per hour and that about 300 classified employees make between $11 and $13 per hour. She said almost all paraeducators make under $15, and she gave the example of one paraeducator who has worked multiple positions in the district over the past 18 years who makes $13.86 per hour.

To bring those classified employees up to at least $15 per hour and provide raises to others, PAL-CWA is proposing a 40% raise for all classified staff, according to Allison-Natale. Based on the wages of current employees, the union estimates the proposed wage increase would take $6.5 million in additional funding from the district.

Allocating additional funding for employee raises has been one factor in the Lawrence school board’s ongoing discussion of the district’s budget and the millions in needed budget cuts. The district estimates its budget deficit is $3.2 million to $3.85 million, based largely on enrollment declines, and the board has discussed a target of $7 million in budget reductions to have funding for staff raises next school year.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Executive Director of Finance Cynde Frick estimated that just to bring pay for all classified staff up to $15 per hour would cost the district about $2.5 million. Frick said the district estimates it could cost up to $9.8 million if the base rate of the classified pay schedule were increased to $15 per hour, but the total cost would depend on what changes were made to the rest of the schedule.

“We say ‘up to’ because it would depend on how we applied that increase,” Frick said. “If it’s across the board, if it’s only to people who do not yet make $15 an hour, or someplace in between that.”

Looked at another way, Frick also said each 1% pay increase for classified staff would cost the district about $182,000.

The district has also been negotiating with the Lawrence Education Association, the local teachers union. Frick said that each 1% pay increase for certified staff would cost the district about $560,000, and that the ongoing contract discussions with the LEA regarding teacher pay are estimated at about $3.9 million.

Allison-Natale said the next contract negotiation meeting for PAL-CWA is scheduled for April 4. District spokesperson Julie Boyle said contract negotiation sessions for the LEA began in September and occur the first Thursday of each month.

As the Journal-World reported, on Monday the school board asked district staff to create a list that prioritizes potential budget cuts with the least impact on students, and the board is scheduled to decide on which cuts to proceed with at its meeting March 28. Without specifying an exact dollar amount, the board asked for the list to be as expansive as possible so the board has room to provide raises and potentially eliminate undesirable options.