As one of 17 school districts in the State of Kansas in the USA that filed official notices of impasse before the current school year, Unified School District (USD) 501 and the teacher’s union entered into formal Federal Mediation on a positive note, with both sides willing and eager to seek a solution to their stalled contract negotiations through the mediation process.  However, halfway through the school year, the mediation efforts have failed over the issue of teacher pay.

Larry Robbins, USD 501 Deputy Superintendent and Ethel Edwards, President of the teacher’s union, both announced the failure of the mediation process.  The contract negotiations now enter an official Fact Finding phase: The State’s Labor Board will offer both sides a list of official Fact Finders.  One will be agreed upon and they will launch an investigation and issue a report.  The two sides can then either come to an agreement based on these facts, or the report becomes public.  In Kansas, teachers are forbidden by law from striking, and administrators have the legal right to unilaterally impose a contract in the event of impasse.

The failure of the mediation was attributed to teacher pay and administrator pay.  Teachers objected to a $435,000 raise package awarded to administrators while teachers received just a $500 increase each.  Administrators countered that teachers in USD 501 were already the highest-paid in the State.