Bargaining Mysteries: With Special Guest Host, Saundra Hill!

Welcome to another exciting episode of Bargaining Mysteries! I am your host, Alice and I’d like to welcome today's special guest host, Saundra Hill, the current superintendent of Pasco School District!

I have to say, this is quite an honor. I know for a fact that everyone on the teacher bargaining team has been trying to get you to talk with them for the better part of three months! Thank you so much for joining me!

This summer, everyone's been on the edge of their seats to hear how bargaining is going. Well wait no longer! Ms Hill has given us a beautiful little glimpse into the status of Pasco schools. If you'd like to read her letter on your own, you can do so here:

http://www.psd1.org/cms/lib4/WA01001055/Centricity/Domain/1/Saundra%20Letter%208-20-15.pdf

Let's not waste anymore time now, let's jump right in!

Thank you for being here Ms Hill. I hope you are having a great summer!

Saundra: "I hope that you are enjoying these final days of summer and that you’ve been able to enjoy some time with your family and friends."

Ah thanks.  I have! Now what prompted you to come out today and make a public statement?

Saundra: "At this time, the School Board and I want you to be aware of the status of negotiations with the Pasco Association of Educators, which represents our teachers."

I'm glad you are giving us an update. We are all curious how things are going. Although I am wondering why you haven't been at the negotiations, but we can talk about that later. Go on.

Saundra: "The teams have been meeting regularly since June, however an agreement has not yet been reached."

Now when you say they've been meeting regularly, what you really mean is they have been meeting only a few days a month because your team is refusing to negotiate without a mediator, right? And that often your team comes to the table late, without any plan at all, refuses to discuss any serious issues, and then leaves early, right?  Oh, never mind. I forgot you aren't there, so I'm sure you don't know. So what else can you tell us?

 Saundra: "Last week we learned that the teachers’ union had voted to authorize a possible strike. We were disappointed by that news."

How disappointed were you?  Would you say you were super disappointed or just a tiny bit disappointed? We've talked to some teachers and they were very upset that things have come to this, but they feel it is the only way to help the district realize just how serious the situation is. I'm just curious how much a strike would actually affect you personally. There are still a lot of open positions to be filled in the district. It seems like you might like a strike because it would give you an extra week or two to hire the staff you need to successfully open schools. But that's crazy, no one would specifically force a strike to cover lack of staff. What a silly idea. Besides, we heard from one of your coworkers that you aren't worried about a strike at all because you are confident you can get a court injunction to force teachers back to work.

Saundra: "We are confident that an agreement will be reached through the mediation process and that our students will be returning to school on September 1. "

Really?  There is only one day left of mediation and the bargaining teams are no where near an agreement. I wish I had your level of confidence. You must know something we don't'.

Saundra: "This situation is not unique to Pasco; other Washington school districts are also experiencing difficult negotiations."

Difficult, yes. But nobody else has voted to strike. That's seems like a big deal. Are you worried about losing teachers to other districts with the current teacher shortage looming all over the state?

Saundra: "We deeply value our teachers and the crucial work that they do. We are proud to stand beside them working towards our common, primary goal of providing the best education possible for all Pasco students."

Wow! that sounds super nice. Does that mean you will be providing a comprehensive district adopted curriculum soon?

Saundra:  "We have a long history of reaching agreement with PAE and I remain confident that we will reach an agreeable resolution that is within the financial means of our district."

So was that a yes to purchasing curriculum?  The state provides millions of dollars every year to be spent on curriculum, so surely we can afford that, right?

Saundra: (sits silently with a regal expression on her face)

Okay, so you don't want to talk about curriculum. Let's talk more about how you value teachers. That sounded promising.

Saundra: "We believe that teachers should receive additional compensation for their important work. The fact remains that paying teachers is a state-level responsibility and our Legislature is not providing adequate funding to Pasco, or any other Washington school district. Districts cannot pay teachers the salaries they deserve without adequate funding from the state.  It’s not fair, and it’s not right."

It sure would be nice if the state paid more for teachers. But isn't it true that the state only pays $58,000 a year per administrator and yet in Pasco the average administrator makes $110,000? It seems like if you really believed teachers should only get paid what the state funds for them, then the same would be true for administrators. The state funds administrator salaries just like it funds teacher salaries. But then the district kicks in a little extra money from levy funds. And when I say a little money, I mean $1.8 million extra dollars paid to just fifty school administrators plus you. That was last year, alone. It looks like you make quite a bit more than that too. Last year you made $151,000 in base salary. That doesn't count the added benefits you get (like a car!) plus the $24,000 bonus you received last year. That all seems like a lot of money. Maybe you could use some of that money to pay for some of the things teachers are asking for. What do you say?

Saundra: "We urge you share your opinions on school funding with your elected officials."

It sounds like you want to push this responsibility off onto the legislature even though you have the means to fix this problem yourself. So if you aren't inclined to help settle contract negotiations, what can you do for Pasco?

Saundra: "If it becomes clear to us that the start of school will be affected, please be assured that you will be informed as quickly as possible."

So your plan is to keep us informed? You make it sound like you are just a casual observer reporting the news, instead of the leader of the largest employer in the city of Pasco. How do you feel about the chaos that Pasco schools are in?

Saundra: "It is business as usual right now."

I'm not sure if that was suppose to make us feel better or not. Do you mean that it is not that bad yet or that it's normal to have teachers out on the picket lines begging for curriculum when they would rather be in their classrooms setting up for the coming year?

Saundra: "Teachers and other employees are participating in professional development to prepare for the coming year. Student athletes are back on the fields and in the gyms. The sounds of marching bands are filling our neighborhoods as band students prepare for the year ahead."

So you're saying that teachers are still going to training, principals are still preparing to open schools, and students are still participating in sports and music. Basically everyone is doing their job.  Well, except for you I guess, since your job is to provide curriculum and pay teachers.  But I'm sure you'll take care of that really soon. 

Saundra: "We can’t wait to get started!"

We can't wait for you to get started too. You've wasted the whole summer refusing to bargain, and now we are out of time. You've wasted the past 15 years not getting curriculum, and now we have failing schools. We hope you get started on this really soon. We sure appreciate you coming to talk with us today, and we look forward to seeing you Tuesday night at the school board meeting!

Well, it appears as though Ms Hill is out of information for us. As usual the mystery around bargaining remains unsolved, with little in the way of actual facts and solutions having been presented to the public. I think I can answer for Ms Hill when I say it was a pleasure sharing this update with you and we look forward to a happy resolution to the bargaining in the near future!