The Tahoe Truckee Education Association (TTEA) announced this week that the contract negotiations between the union and the school district had reached an impasse. An impasse is admittance that there is no agreement and a third party is needed to help with the negotiations.

“A state mediator appointed by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) will now be brought in to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. TTEA declared an impasse for the 2022-23 school year on salary, health benefits, class size, leaves, transfers, and hours of employment.”

According to a TTEA press release. “The teachers have proposed language to protect class sizes, increase in-person instructional time with students, and increase salaries to keep up with inflation and to be more competitive in attracting and retaining local educators.”

The largest financial issue under negotiation, increasing teacher salaries, the union claims that TTUSD has a 9.5% increase in revenue. According to the union’s press release, “… the district has increased its unrestricted reserve last year to over 15 million dollars (18.88 percent), well above the State mandated 3 percent reserve for economic uncertainty and the higher locally adopted board reserve level.”

Both parties plan to continue with negotiations until an agreement is reached. According to Amber Burke, TTUSD’s Communications Director, “The district will continue to follow the negotiation process to find a fair solution for all parties.”

“Our teachers are committed to our students and our community, and we are hoping a state mediator will be able to help us reach a fair agreement with the district,” Nik Fertitta, acting TTEA president.