Klamath Falls, Ore. (This is a letter that was sent to City School families and to the Media from the Klamath Falls City School Board Chair)
Our first priority is, and always will be, the safety, care, and well-being of your/our students. Every day, our classified employees help make sure children are fed, transported safely, supported in classrooms, and cared for throughout the school day.
The District is currently at an impasse in negotiations with the Klamath Falls Association of Classified Employees (KFACE), and mediation is scheduled to begin at the end of the month. While we are working toward a fair and sustainable agreement, we want families to understand how a potential strike could affect students. A strike could disrupt student meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) as well as transportation services, which many families rely on daily.
We deeply value these employees and have offered a compensation package consistent with other District employee groups, and actually better. These positions have already received an average of a 3% step increase on July 1, 2025, and are asking for an additional $4.00 per hour in the current 2025-26 school year. The District has offered the group an additional $1.50 per hour which is an average of a 7% increase with a low of 3.4% and a high of 8.6% plus we have offered additional increases from $.28 to $1.81 for the majority of the membership. Along with this very competitive offer, the District currently pays up to $2170 towards health, dental, and vision insurance (Depending on who is covered and how much you work) and has agreed in negotiations to increase that by 3.4%. The district also pays the district’s 28% portion of PERS retirement and it pays the employees mandatory 6% contribution towards PERS retirement benefits. Staff also receive between 9-12 paid holidays depending how many months they work. In addition to these benefits, they are eligible for unemployment benefits during the summer which represents an ongoing cost to the District, funds that otherwise support student programs and services.
Many positions are part-time working an average of 6.5 hours a day and their days worked align with the school calendar (around 178 days per year) with summer, Thanksgiving break, Winter Break, and Spring Break off. However, KFACE is comparing our offer to these part-time positions to the national average for a person that works 8 hours a day, 12 months a year, full-time. It is also important for families to know that if this group were to strike, employees would be eligible for unemployment benefits, again at the District’s expense.
Our goal is to reach a resolution that supports our employees while protecting the educational programs and essential services your children depend on. We remain committed to bargaining in good faith and keeping students at the center of every decision we make.
Sincerely,
Andrew Biggs
KFCS School Board Chair
