The Juneau School District’s adminstration buidling is at the corner of Glacier Avenue and 12th Street. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

The Juneau School District’s adminstration buidling is at the corner of Glacier Avenue and 12th Street. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

It’s negotiating time for Juneau School District

Three collective bargaining agreements are set to end in July

With three collective bargaining agreements expiring this summer, Juneau School District is set to head to the negotiating table.

On Friday at 4:30 p.m., there will be a special school board meeting that is expected to head directly to executive session for discussions about negotiations with Juneau Education Support Staff, Juneau School Administrative Association and Juneau Education Association.

The meeting will not feature bargaining but the topic will be talked about.

[Juneau school celebrates 50th anniversary]

“It’s just a school board discussion,” said Jessica Richmond, administrative assistant to the superintendent.

JEA, JESS and JSAA all last reached agreements with the district in 2016. All three agreements run from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2019.

Negotiations are still in their early stages across the board, Richmond said.

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

The first meeting between district negotiators and the JEA’s negotiating team is also set for Friday afternoon a few hours before the special school board meeting.

JEA President Laura Mulgrew said the meeting will be approached optimistically.

“We enter into negotiations now hoping things will be positive,” Mulgrew said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Mulgrew was part of the JEA negotiating team in 2016, but she will not be at the table this year. She said bargaining was not especially heated three years ago, but both sides made concessions.

She did not offer insight into what educators may ask for during the upcoming negotiations.

“I think it’s premature at this point,” Mulgrew said.

Things are slightly further along with JESS.

Joel Hill, Southeast field representative for Alaska Public Employees Association, which is representing JESS in negotiations, said tentative agreements are in place for almost all non-economic portions of the agreement.

Plans were in place to begin hammering out dollar and cents matters beginning Feb. 20, Hill said.

However, Hill said Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget put those plans on hold because of cuts to education spending contained in the proposal.

[Rally held for University of Alaska funding]

“It’s up in the air as far as dollars — are they going to be cut? Is the Legislature going to come back?” Hill said. “It’s not prudent to go to the table right now and negotiate over things when we have no idea what is going to shake out.”

Until a more concrete form of a budget takes shape, Hill said negotiations are unlikely to progress.

Richmond said it is a certainty that collective bargaining will continue to be an agenda staple in the future.


• Contact reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenHohenstatt.


More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Feb. 1

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Monday, Jan. 27, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Emma Pokon, then acting commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, speaks on Nov. 15, 2023, at the Resource Development for Alaska annual conference in Anchorage. Pokon, whom Gov. Mike Dunleavy promoted to commissioner the following month, was chosen to lead the regional Environmental Protection Agency office serving Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and 271 tribal nations. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska environmental commissioner picked for Trump administration EPA post

Alaska’s top environmental regulator was chosen to be the new Pacific Northwestern… Continue reading

The State Office Building in Juneau is seen on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Salary board recommends automatic pay changes for Alaska governor, legislators, top officials

Switch to inflation-adjusted salaries will automatically take effect unless lawmakers reject it.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé students, along with a handful of state legislators and staff members, march from the school to the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 4, 2024, in a protest seeking more state funding from lawmakers. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Alaska students rank 51st among 53 U.S. jurisdictions in 3 of 4 categories in annual ‘Nation’s Report Card’

Dunleavy administration says it shows failure of public schools, other say it reflects lack of funds.

Thom Young sits with Pepper and Rick Driscoll sits with Homer in a dog visiting room at Juneau Animal Rescue on Jan. 28, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
North to adoption: Three dogs from LA arrive at Juneau Animal Rescue

From the Antelope Valley to Mendenhall Valley, dogs close to euthanasia get a fresh start.

The renovated Edward K. Thomas Building, used by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, has been frequented in recent days by residents seeking tribal IDs. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Natives in Juneau rushing to get tribal IDs amidst fears of immigration detentions

115 IDs issued Tuesday is “incredibly not normal,” tribal president says; no local detentions confirmed.

The White House rescinded its order to freeze federal grants on Wednesday. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Trump administration rescinds freeze on federal grants and loans

Freeze is rescinded but a review to eliminate spending on ‘woke’ ideologies will proceed.

Most Read