After contract negotiations that began in June of 2014 have failed to produce an agreement between the Desert Sands Unified School District and the teacher’s union, the district formally called for both sides to agree on a choice of mediator. The union’s initial response was negative, however, bringing about 800 teachers, students, and parents to the district's Education Center in protest, demanding “fair contracts.”

The union categorizes the district’s actions as walking away from negotiations, whereas the district simply stated that normal negotiations were stuck on a single issue and therefore a neutral third party would be necessary to get past it.

The main sticking point in the contract dispute is over compensation. The union has asked for a 6% salary increase, increased medical benefits, and more planning time for teachers, and extra funding for special education. The union has not been shy about pointing out that the Desert Sands Unified School District Superintendent Gary Rutherford is one of the highest paid in the county, and that the district’s budget is very much in the black.

The Union claims that without the increased compensation, the district will start to lose talented teachers to neighboring districts that pay better.

The Public Employment Relations Board can appoint a mediator if both sides agree. If mediation fails to produce and agreement, the next stage is known as “fact-finding.” After this process, the Union would legally be allowed to call for a strike. The district expressed confidence that things won’t go that far.