Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association Anne McCabe speaks to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in support of approving employee contracts negotiated last month, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association Anne McCabe speaks to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in support of approving employee contracts negotiated last month, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

School board OKs agreement

The agreement for a three-year contract will be effective between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021.

The school board voted to approve contract agreements for district employees at their Monday meeting. The contract agreement was made by the district and two employee associations in the early morning of Sept. 17, hours before an employee strike was set to begin.

The Kenai Peninsula Education Association, the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association and the district had been negotiating for a contract for nearly 600 days, and bargaining snagged on the rising cost of health care.

While the district and the employee associations agreed on the contract, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education had the final say on approving the contract.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Both contracts, one for each association, passed with “yes” votes from every school board member present, except for board member Greg Madden, who voted “no” to supporting both of the associations’ contracts.

Board member Dan Castimore had an excused absence from the meeting. Board members Jason Tauriainen and Zen Kelly abstained from voting on the Kenai Peninsula Education Association contract, due to a conflict of interest. Both of their spouses are educators with the district.

Paul Marks, a teacher at Soldotna High School, said he was glad to move past contract negotiations and see the agreement formally approved.

“There were compromises made by both sides,” Marks said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to move forward and make it so when it comes up again in another year, we can move forward positively and work together to make certain that we’re able to retain the excellent staff that we have and be able to attract new wonderful people. And make it so our students have a wonderful place to go.”

The agreement for a three-year contract, reached at 1:37 a.m., Sept. 17, will be effective between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021. This means negotiations for a contract effective after June 2021, will need to begin in about a year. Some board members said they hoped negotiators learn from their recent experience, to help the next collective bargaining session go smoothly.

“I hope that when we go into negotiations next time, which isn’t that far away, that we change our terminology a little and we move forward in a positive manner,” board member Debbie Cary said at Monday’s meeting.

“We have another one of these coming up pretty soon, sooner than we think, and it’s going to be imperative that both sides stay positive with each other and respect each other as humans, because there were times that did not happen,” Tauriainen said at Monday’s meeting. “We need to make sure that happens this time.”

Superintendent John O’Brien said he was eager to move forward from the contract negotiations.

“This has been a long process, close to 600 days, and very contentious at times,” O’Brien said at Monday’s meeting. “I will echo that as a district and as the leader of this district, we need to move forward. If this were not to pass, I can’t imagine the turmoil this would place the district in. I implore the board members who are able to vote, to pass this motion so we can move forward and focus on instruction and advocating for education in this next legislative session.”

The district is set to face funding challenges in the near future. At Monday’s meeting, O’Brien said the district is projected to lose 150 students, which may result in a $1.6 million loss in state and borough funding.

“We have a really big challenge in front of us,” Kelly said at the meeting. “We have a budget to deal with that we’ll be tackling pretty soon. We have a governor’s budget being released on Dec. 15, and I think we all need to be on the same team and rally support for education as a whole.”

More in News

Concert-goers listen to The Discopians at Concert on the Lawn on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Karen Hornaday Park in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
‘Dancing at the end of the world’

KBBI AM 890 hosted their annual Concert on the Lawn Saturday.

Lisa Gabriel unfurls a set beach seine during a test fishery for the gear near Clam Gulch, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seine test fishery continues after board of fish calls for more data

The east side setnet fishery has been entirely closed in recent years to protect Kenai River king salmon

Jason Criss stands for a photo in Soldotna, Alaska, after being named a qualifier for the Special Olympics USA Games on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna athlete to compete in 2026 Special Olympics USA Games

Thousands of athletes from across all 50 states will be competing in 16 sports.

The entrance to the Homer Electric Association office is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on May 7, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
HEA opens bids for real property

The deadline to submit bids is 5 p.m. on Aug. 11.

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. (right) attends a change of plea hearing related to the October 2023 fatal shooting of Brianna Hetrick on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at the Homer Courthouse in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Mondragon-Lopez sentenced for death of Homer woman

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. accepted a plea deal in February for the shooting of Brianna Hetrick.

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna OKs $395,000 capital plan

This year’s list of capital projects is “nominal compared to some past years,” according to officials.

A map of areas proposed for annexation by the City of Soldotna. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna adds annexation proposal to ballot

The proposed annexation is split across five small areas around the city.

Nets are extended from North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘A really good day’

Kenai River personal use sockeye salmon dipnet fishery opens.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna is seen here on June 1. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough assembly to consider ordinance to increase residential property tax exemption

If approved by voters in October, the ordinance would increase the tax exemption by $25,000.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in