The Washoe County School District (WCSD) Board of Trustees has approved an agreement with the Washoe Education Association (WEA) in recognition of the tremendous work of District educators over the past two years. WEA represents some 4,000 WCSD educators: the agreement will add a differential payment in the amount of $2,500 for returning educators and $1,500 for new educators hired for the 2022-23 school year.
“The District deeply appreciates the outstanding contributions of our educators in response to the extraordinary impacts of the COVID pandemic, and we are aware of the impacts on educator morale and retention,” said Emily Ellison, chief human resources officer for WCSD. “We are also sensitive to the labor market and economic pressures that our employees are facing, and we hope this will provide some much-needed financial resources for them.”
A portion of this differential– $1,500 of the $2,500—will be paid from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, with the remaining $1,000 being paid from the WCSD General Fund. The total estimate cost for ESSER funding is $6.4 million and the estimated cost for the General Fund is $4.3 million.
Educators are tasked with supporting the physical, mental, and emotional safety needs of the District’s 62,000 children, working to overcome substantial learning gaps and developmental delays, and re-establishing learning routines and school norms. The percentage of educators reporting significant professional burnout and leaving the profession has increased, and the District is committed to taking action to retain educators.
“We know that the needs of our employees extend beyond one-time payments,” said Ellison. “We are hopeful that these stipends, in additional to those already negotiated as a part of the WEA collective bargaining agreement, signal the commitment of District leadership to provide additional compensation in fiscally responsible ways, whenever possible.”
The District will work with other labor associations that have already settled contracts for the upcoming year to implement similar add-on differentials that Trustees will consider for approval at future meetings.
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