Unions call delayed vote on CCSD support staff raises ‘misguided’

Tensions between state lawmakers and the Clark County School District remained high Wednesday, when legislators delayed a vote to appropriate nearly $60 million for district support staff raises.

The Interim Finance Committee, a group of lawmakers who meet between legislative sessions, postponed voting on the school district’s request for $58 million because the district did not present the committee with a “complete plan,” said Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno, who serves as the committee chair.

“What we have before us today … was for school districts to come with a plan and that plan was supposed to have with it a plan for budgeted increases for salaries for teachers and education support professionals,” she said.

“The plan from CCSD does not encompass all of that.”

The school district requested the funds to supplement raises for support staff over the next two years after the School Board approved a deal with support staff unions in late September.

That deal would see support staff employees, including school bus drivers, food service workers and custodial workers, receive an 8.7 percent raise over the biennium.

The $58 million, if eventually appropriated, would be used for an additional 4 percent salary increase over the next two years and would sunset in June 2025.

But the district argued in an emailed statement that the move was “unfounded” and said that the district and the support staff unions followed guidance from the Legislative Counsel Bureau to request the funds for support staff.

“Instead, these custodians, bus drivers, food service workers, office managers, instructional assistants and many more are forced to wait because the Legislature did not follow their guidance as provided to school districts,” the district said.

“The decision to defer CCSD’s request is unfounded, as our application was complete and included all documents required.”

In a statement, Education Support Employees Association and Teamsters Local 14 — the unions representing support staff — called the move “misguided.”

“Our contract was bargained in good faith, in a timely manner, and the district plan for Support Professionals was already submitted by CCSD,” the unions said in a joint statement.

“We are hugely disappointed and urge all of our members to speak up and insist that our promised funds be dispersed in a timely manner, without waiting on the teachers unions.”

The $58 million ask is approximately a third of the funds available to the school district through the passage of Senate Bill 231, which created a $250 million pot of state money meant for teacher and staff raises.

The remaining amount of the Clark County School District’s allotment — more than $170 million — is meant to help fund teacher salaries.

But the district has argued amid contract negotiations with the teachers union that it cannot use money from the bill to fund permanent salary increases because the money will run out in 2025.

CCSD declared an impasse in negotiations with the Clark County Education Association in September after 11 negotiation sessions failed to bring an agreement on pay, benefits and working conditions.

Wednesday’s standoff is just the most recent event in a tense relationship between state legislators and the school district.

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro called on Clark County Superintendent Jesus Jara to resign in early November.

The Clark County Education Association also called for Jara to resign earlier this year.

The Interim Finance Committee is set to meet on Feb. 8.

A previous version of this story misstated the day that the Interim Finance Committee delayed voting on the support staff raises. It also provided incorrect information about the types of support staff employees.

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on X.