BI school board approves contract

Members of the Bainbridge Island Educational Support Professional Association finally have a new contract.

Members of the Bainbridge Island Educational Support Professional Association finally have a new contract.

At its meeting last Thursday, the Bainbridge school board unanimously approved the agreement for the district’s non-teachers union.

For BIESPA president Mike McCloud, one of the most exciting changes to the contract was a new minimum wage, set at $15 per hour, which affords a significant wage increase to the lowest paid classified staff workers. Previously, entry-level food service staff and para-educators might make as little as $12.82 or $14.46 per hour, depending on experience.

Other highlights include a 2.5 percent raise for the 2015-2016 school year and a 3 percent raise in 2016-2017, on top of state-mandated cost-of-living adjustments of 3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

Beyond compensation, the new contract also revisits workload review and personal day stipends.

In the past, classified staff could challenge whether their workloads were equal with those of other workers and whether they had enough scheduled hours to reasonably complete their assigned tasks. A committee, composed of the employee, one person of his or her choosing, a supervisor and one person of the supervisor’s choosing, would meet to problem solve and examine concerns.

The new contract establishes a neutral advisory group, composed of two classified staff and two administrators, to resolve any issues and provides funding to allow for adjusted hours and more equitably distributed work if recommended by the committee.

Under the previous contract, which expired at the end of August, employees were granted two personal days per year. The new contract grants long-standing employees a special “longevity” stipend. Those who have worked for the district for 10 years will receive one additional personal day; those who have worked for the district for 15 years will receive two. All employees will also be able to cash out up to two unused personal days per year.

Custodians who were on school-year only (190-day) contracts were offered 260-day schedules under the new agreement. Along with food service staff, they also received new clothing allowances.

The contract also sets forth funding for classified staff to attend building meetings and allows for consolidated break times to prevent fragmented work schedules.

The agreement for a new classified staff contract has been a long time coming.

Representatives for BIESPA and the district met 11 times between June and November before a new contract was brokered on Jan. 19, after two full days of mediation conducted by a representative of the Public Employee Relations Commission.

BIESPA ratified the agreement internally on Feb. 3, when 46 members cast their support (94 percent) and just three opposed.