Labor Negotiations

Annually, the District enters into labor negotiations with the Genesee Education Association which represents all certified professional employees except administrators. The GEA is affiliated with the Idaho Education Association and the National Education Association. This process takes place annually each spring.

Historically, the District is represented by the superintendent and one trustee while the Association is represented by a committee of teachers. The labor agreement must be ratified by the full Board of Trustees and a vote of the Association membership.

There are two parts of the labor agreement. The first part is the procedural agreement which specifies the parameters for negotiations. The second part is the actual negotiations agreement. Generally, it is this second part which is subject to annual negotiations. The negotiations agreement includes leave, working conditions, insurance, a salary schedule, and an extra-curricular salary schedule. Negotiations have historically been held in executive or closed session.

Every school district in Idaho is a separate local government entity. Even though districts receive the majority of their funding from the State, each district has different agreements with their employees. The Idaho school funding system uses a salary-based allocation model. In addition to the discretionary funding based on support units, the largest amount of funds are derived from a formula that looks substantially like a salary schedule. Some districts have negotiated salary schedules that are identical to the Idaho salary allocation grid. Genesee's CPE salary schedule has evolved over time as the District and GEA have worked to craft a schedule that meets District needs. That schedule is posted in the employment section of our web site.

Normally we would have already entered into negotiations, but given the long Idaho legislative session and the lack of financial information, the two sides have agreed to wait until the legislature substantially completes their work.