Kentfield School District, support staff declare impasse in contract talks

The Kentfield School District and its classified workers union this week jointly declared an impasse in contract talks for the 2023-24 school year.

The two sides, in negotiation for the last five months, disagree on salaries, according to Raquel Rose, district superintendent.

“Unfortunately we are at a deadlock regarding a compensation package,” Rose said Wednesday.

The district’s latest offer was an 8% raise, she said. The union, the Kentfield Education Support Professionals Association, is asking for a 14.24% to 27.47% pay bump.

Gretchen Harris, the association’s president and bargaining chair, said the district’s offer is too low.

“The district’s offer would result in a mere $20.48 per week raise, before taxes, for the district’s lowest-wage workers,” Harris said.

“It takes a village to run a school, and KESPA plays an important role in our students’ education,” Harris said. “Our students deserve the best educators, resources and learning environment.”

Both Rose and David Riedel, the district’s board president, said the 8% salary increase was the same rate offered to Kentfield’s teachers and nonteaching professional staff.

“Everyone else accepted that, except for the classified support staff,” Riedel said. “We have limited financial resources, and we need to keep a close eye on those resources.”

The two sides are awaiting word on a schedule for state-assisted mediation.

“KSD is optimistic that in the coming weeks a neutral state appointed mediator will bring the parties together to resolve this impasse quickly,” Rose said.

She said that the district’s 8% increase offer was on top of a 4% raise given during the 2022-23 school year. The two sides have “already reached a tentative agreement regarding hours of employment and overtime, and a memorandum of understanding was signed on custodians working during the evening hours,” Rose said.

The union, meanwhile, is preparing to call for a strike authorization vote, “if this goes beyond mediation,” Harris said.

“We are working to attract and retain the best educators for Kentfield students,” she said.

Kentfield School District serves about 1,000 students at two schools: Bacich Elementary School and Kent Middle School.

Kentfield Education Support Professionals Association is affiliated with the 310,000-member California Teachers Association and the National Education Association, which has 3 million members nationwide, according to a statement from the union.