Kentfield School District, teachers hit impasse in contract talks

After weeks of talks, the Kentfield School District has declared an impasse in contract negotiations with its teachers union for the 2024-25 school year and beyond.

The impasse, declared Friday, means the district is calling for a neutral state mediator to step in to help find a compromise with the union, the Kentfield Teachers Association, said Raquel Rose, district superintendent.

“Our respective proposals are too far apart for internal negotiations to remain productive,” Rose said in an email. “As financial stewards of the Kentfield School District, the board cannot accept KTA’s proposals for raises that would bankrupt the district in the coming years.”

Warren Beales, president of the union, said the district’s last best offer could actually be a net loss for teachers if they have to use part of a salary hike to pay for the increased cost of health benefits.

“Parents in the district would be shocked to learn that teacher salaries in Kentfield are 15th out of 17 in the county, despite Kentfield being situated in one of the highest cost areas of the county,” Julie Gallagher, a Kent Middle School English teacher and KTA negotiator, said in an email.

The union is asking for a 6% increase in salaries for 2024-25 and 4.75% increase for 2025-26, with no freeze in health benefits.

The district says it is offering 3% salary increases in each of the next three years, or 9% over three years. The 9% offer is conditional on rising property tax revenues and is also conditional on the union accepting a freeze on health benefits at the current level.

Beales said the district’s offer is actually a 2.25% increase per year, because the conditions imposed are “impossible” on the one hand, and “a net loss” on the other.

“The district chose the best-case scenario,” he said of the rising property tax scenario that would trigger the 3% raises. “We looked at the forecast, and that is never going to happen — it’s impossible.”

If the union accepted the 2.25% raises and had to pay out of pocket for increased health care costs, “we’d actually have a net loss,” he said.

“I’m incredibly frustrated with that misrepresentation,” Beales said of a district email to the public, referring to the 3% raise offer. “They get to blast that out in an email to the whole community.”

According to Rose, the district covers up to a 10% increase per year on the cost of health insurance for 102 employees who access the benefit. The district has 130 employees.

The district contribution for health insurance is $20,856 per employee plus one family member, and $10,428 for a single employee, she said.

“Of the 102 employees, 63 employees access employee-plus-one-dependent coverage and 49 employees access employee-only coverage,” Rose said.

“Total compensation packages — salary plus benefits — remain competitive,” Rose said. “The KSD’s total compensation is ranked above the average among eight comparable Marin County school districts.”

Beales disputed that statement, saying Kentfield was 15 out of 17 Marin districts in salary “for its most tenured teachers.”

“It is our goal to make the district a desirable place to come and to stay regarding financial security,” Beales said. “Kentfield teachers are struggling, and it’s important that the community understand what’s at stake in these negotiations.”

Reed Maltzman, an eighth-grade teacher at Kent, said he has been with the district for 19 years.

“I’m keenly aware that I can move to other schools or other districts to increase my salary,” Maltzman said. “When experienced teachers like myself leave, Kent students suffer.”

“If the Kentfield School District hopes to retain veteran teachers, they need to increase our salaries,” Maltzman said. “Experience really matters in education.”

According to Rose, the district is already deficit-spending by up to $1.34 million annually, meaning it is using its reserves to balance the budget. A higher-than-planned contract settlement could exhaust the district’s reserves of about 10.54% over the next three years, she said.

By law, the district’s reserves are not allowed to dip below 4% without jeopardizing the district’s positive budget status, she said.

Rose said local property tax revenue, “the main source of KSD budget dollars,” is projected to decrease 3% in 2024-25 from this school year.

“Costs are rising for everything from health insurance and salaries to reams of paper and utilities,” she said. “Students need more academic and mental health support than ever before.”

Over the last few years, the district provided teachers an increase of 12% in salaries, in addition to the step and column increases, Rose added.

“Teachers and classified staff are the most important factor in delivering a quality education to students,” Rose said. “However, the board’s fundamental responsibility is to provide an excellent education for our students while maintaining fiscal solvency, despite decreased revenue and rising costs.”

She said the district has already cut about $2.3 million in costs over the last few years through a combination of efforts. Those have included restructuring transitional kindergarten and the universal meals program and laying off or or reassigning up to the equivalent of 12 full-time staff members.

Future cost-cutting plans include relocating the administrative team out of the district office to generate rental income and save on operating expenses, and sharing services with other districts, Rose said.

The district serves about 1,000 students at Bacich Elementary School and Kent Middle School.