Salem-Keizer School Board directors on Tuesday unanimously approved a new contract with its classified employee association following tense negotiations that dragged on for nearly a year.
Board Director Krissy Hudson was absent.
Relief was evidence from school board directors, the union’s bargaining team and district leaders as the board considered the contract. With the agreement now finalized, classified employees will receive a one-time $5,000 retention bonus, and a retroactive 7% cost of living raise going back to July 1, 2023.
Following multiple rounds of voting, the board selected Lisa Harnisch from among five applicants to fill a vacant board seat representing zone 1, west Salem. She is the executive director of the Marion Polk Early Learning Hub, and has previously served on the district’s budget committee.
Harnisch will serve the remainder of Osvaldo Avila’s term until June 30, 2025. Avila resigned in February, citing a need to spend more time with his family.
The board voted using a ranked system and written ballots, so it wasn’t clear which four school board directors selected Harnisch as their first choice for the seat.
“It is always my goal to listen to understand and to identify solutions around issues. As a board member, I will focus my decisions on what is best for students of all ages to be successful and thrive – not only in the moment, but for the long term,” Harnisch wrote in her application.
The board unanimously voted to appoint Cynthia Richardson its first vice chair. Avila previously held the role until his resignation.
Board directors voted with four members in favor to approve a city of Salem request granting a property tax exemption to a small downtown apartment building in a city urban renewal area. Director Maria Hinojos Pressey abstained.
Original story below:
The Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday will vote on a three-year contract with its classified employee association, ending a nearly year-long bargaining process with raises and other pay increases for thousands of school district employees.
The agreement is separate from a contract with the teacher union. Bargaining is continuing between district and union leaders after the union declared an impasse in February, setting the stage for a possible teacher strike.
To participate
The Salem-Keizer School Board meets Tuesday, March 12, in the boardroom at the former Student Services Support Center, 2575 Commercial Street S.E. The public meeting begins at 6 p.m. The board will meet in executive session at 4:30 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations, school security and superintendent evaluation. Executive session meetings are closed to the public.
Members of the public may sign up in advance to provide written, in-person or virtual public comment. People can sign up using this form.
Public comment sign-ups close at 3 p.m. Monday.
The meeting will be streamed on CC:Media, channel 21 or on YouTube in English and Spanish.
Union contract
District leaders and the Association of Salem-Keizer Education Support Professionals tentatively agreed on a contract Feb. 22 which covers support workers like classroom assistants, bus drivers, custodians, maintenance workers, security and office staff across the district. The union represents about 2,800 employees.
It would give employees a 7% raise this year, retroactive to July 1; a 3.75% raise next year and a 4% raise for the 2025-26 school year.
Superintendent Andrea Castañeda said the contract would cost the district $73 million over three years.
Members voted to ratify the contract last week, with 97% in favor, according to a union email sent Thursday evening. Union President Edie Buchanan said about 1,500 members voted.
The agreement includes an increase in the district’s contribution toward health insurance premiums and a one-time, $5,000 retention bonus for any employee working at least half time. Employees working less than half time would receive $2,500.
That money would be paid out of the district’s Covid relief funding, which must be spent this year.
Bilingual employees would receive a 4% pay differential if they use their second language on the job.
The agreement also contains changes to health and safety procedures that are intended to address the district’s high rate of injuries from students assaulting employees. Union leaders described that as a key issue in bargaining.
New school board member
The school board will vote to appoint a new director for zone 1, west Salem. The seat is vacant after Osvaldo Avila resigned in early February.
Five people applied for the seat. They are:
- George Alex Grimes, a parent of two district students and U.S. Army veteran who’s studying for a Master’s in Business Administration
- Lisa Harnisch, executive director of the Marion Polk Early Learning Hub
- Jesse Helligso, a researcher with Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission and district parent
- Joaquín Lara Midkiff, parent of a current middle school student, grants coordinator at Capaces Leadership Institute. He also serves on the Cherriots board.
- Ross Swartzendruber, a substitute teacher in the district and parent of a 2021 graduate. He ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2021, finishing last in a four-way race.
State law prohibits school district employees from serving on the board of the district they work for. If Swartzendruber is appointed to the board, he would have to resign as a substitute teacher, district spokesman Aaron Harada said.
The board will also elect a new first vice chair. Avila held the position when he resigned.
Other items
The board will also consider:
- Adopting a dual language high school civics curriculum
- Approving a property tax exemption for two mixed-use buildings with 7 apartments located at 890 Commercial Street N.E. The exemption is a request from the city of Salem. Because the property is in Salem’s downtown urban renewal area, approving an exemption will not change the amount of property tax collected by the school district.
- Approving a waiver allowing the school district not to make up three days of school missed during a January ice storm. Local schools were closed from Jan. 16-18 due to icy roads and power outages affecting multiple buildings.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
