Kenai Peninsula Educational Support Association President Susanna Litwiniak testifies in support of two memorandums of agreement during a meeting of the Kenai Penisula Borough School District Board of Education on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Peninsula Educational Support Association President Susanna Litwiniak testifies in support of two memorandums of agreement during a meeting of the Kenai Penisula Borough School District Board of Education on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

District support staff to get pay raises

The move was approved by the school board Monday

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s support staff are getting raises this school year.

The board of education Monday approved the pay hikes in an agreement with the union that represents those employees. The board also approved the creation of a program that aims to grow the number of special education employees within the district.

Those initiatives were outlined in two separate memorandums of agreement approved by board members during their regular Monday night meeting in Soldotna.

The first memorandum outlines pay increases for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years for the district’s support staff. For the upcoming school year, support staff wages will start at $16.73, compared to the $15.04 agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement last year. For the 2023-2024 school year, those wages will start at $17.06, compared to the $15.34 described in the collective bargaining agreement.

In proposing the pay bumps, the memorandum cites a “post-pandemic inflation increase” and “the importance of retaining and recruiting” for vacant positions during the upcoming school years.

Board member Jason Tauriainen, who said he is a former support staff member, called the pay bump “a long time coming.”

“The ability to make this happen here is both unusual and unprecedented and it’s something that was needed for support staff,” Tauriainen said. “I’m thankful to be on this board and have an opportunity to cast my positive vote for this.”

Board member Matt Morse, who represents Kenai, said he would not support the memorandum boosting pay for the district’s support staff because he does not think it will lead to “long-term comprehensive solutions.”

“I do support helping our lowest paid employee group in this time of historical high inflation,” Morse said. “However, I don’t think that how we’re going about this will lead to long-term comprehensive solutions.”

Approval of that memorandum came roughly two months after members of both the Kenai Peninsula Educational Support Association, which represents the district’s support staff, and the Kenai Peninsula Education Association, which represents the district’s certified staff, rallied outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building to call for higher support staff pay.

The second memorandum approved by board of education members Monday describes a new “Grow-Your-Own” program through which the district will financially support classified employees who want to participate in a special education teaching program. That memorandum cites the district’s desire to “develop additional pathways to develop and recruit special education employees.”

KPESA President Susanna Litwiniak spoke during Monday’s board meeting in support of both memorandums, which she called great examples of “what can happen when we work together toward a common goal.”

“I think that both of them are going to go far in furthering what we’re all working towards — making sure that the students get what they need,” Litwiniak said.

Monday’s full board of education meeting can be found on the district’s media website at media.kpbsd.k12.ak.us.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

The Nikiski Senior Center stands under sunlight in Nikiski, Alaska, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Support available for community caregivers

Nikiski Senior Center hosts relaunched Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
House passes bill altering wording of sex crimes against children

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in opposition to an executive order that would abolish the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives during a joint legislative session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Legislature kills most of Dunleavy’s executive orders in rare joint session

All the proposed orders would have shuffled or eliminated the responsibilities of various state boards

Nikiski Middle/High School student Maggie Grenier testifies in favor of a base student allocation increase before the Alaska Senate Education Committee on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Students report mixed responses from lawmakers in education discussions

Delegates from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District lobbied the Alaska Legislature for more state funding and other education priorities

A child waves from the back of a truck as the 32nd annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade proceeds down Fireweed Street in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
St. Patrick’s Day parade set for Sunday

The annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, kicks off at 2 p.m.

Most Read