YCS to review policy relating to salary increases of certificated admin, classified admin and non-represented staff

With the Yelm Community Schools Board of Directors set to vote on Policy 5310 later this summer — which determines salaries for certificated administrators, classified administrators and non-represented staff — Superintendent Chris Woods spoke to board members during a meeting on Thursday, June 25, about the potential ramifications of voting against raises.

First, Woods reminded the YCS Board of Directors and attendees at the meeting that each year, the board votes on approving Policy 5310. The staff affected by Policy 5310 are principals, assistant principals, directors, coordinators and district office staff.

“This is the only group that the board makes the decision on what that salary schedule looks like year to year,” Woods said.

According to Woods, he’s shared four different options for the 2026-27 salary schedule, including: allowing staff members who can move up a step in experience to do such; allowing staff to move up a step in experience plus a 1% raise; allowing staff to move up a step in experience plus a 2% raise; or to move up a step in experience and receive IPD — which is a 2.6% raise.

The superintendent added that all three groups — PSE, YAEOP and the certificated group — are all set to receive a step increase and IPD in their contract this year.

“Across the board in our negotiations with all groups settled for IDP, which is what most districts across the state use as a gauge when doing their negotiations,” Woods said. “Now, we financially could not go any higher than IDP. Even that is a stretch for us in our situation. I bring these options to you to consider because you ultimately make the decision… I’ve also asked you not to increase the superintendent salary, regardless of what you do with 5310 for 2026-27.”

YCS Board President Casey Shaw told the superintendent that he didn’t have any questions — adding that the “data is clear.”
“We’re in a position that hasn’t gotten any better in the last couple of years, and we’re in a position where we’ve been cutting more and more and more and we’re going to have to cut more and more and more,” Shaw said. “I find it extremely hard to increase salaries while cutting on the other end. I know it’s a terrible economic situation in this town, in this state, in this country — but if we’re trying to stay solvent in this district, I don’t feel comfortable offering raises in one hand and cutting programs in the other.”

Board member Ryan Jewell added that he feels the same way as the school board president Shaw.

“When the needle is moving south, anything that moves north doesn’t sit well and stewarding public funds, it just seems like a big challenge,” Jewell said. “It’s an un-fun conversation.”

Woods said it’s going to be his job to tell the board the reality of whatever decision is made — and that the reality is that YCS will continue to lose staff.

“They will go to a neighboring district and we will have a revolving door in these positions,” Woods said. “The other thing that’s important to know is we have staff on 180 day contracts in some cases making more than staff on 215 or 260 day contracts. We as a district just need to be prepared that we will continue to have people leave and we have a particular administrator that is going from a principal job and making more per-day in a teaching job. We have a principal who is leaving to go be an assistant principal at the same level and will be making more than they were making here as a principal.”

Woods told the board members that he’ll continue to bring information forward to them ahead of a vote on Policy 5310.

“It is nearly impossible to catch up,” Woods said. “Yelm will not catch up and that will be our story moving forward. You will, in a lot of cases, get brand new employees for a short period of time that will then move to neighboring districts where they can make $10,000 or $20,000 more.”

Woods added that he understands Shaw and Jewell’s thought process, and said that public education is a “unique beast” when it comes to funding and comparisons across the state to other districts.

“This is the only salary situation that we, as a board, get to vote on,” Shaw said. “I can say that I would take the same tact in every situation at this point, because the alternative is if we don’t pass a levy in the near future there might not be a Yelm job for anybody. We physically cannot get there and we’re being forced to cut everywhere. How are we supposed to responsibly cut everywhere else but then not here? I don’t feel good about this decision, but I don’t feel good about the alternative either.”

Woods responded and said the situation is a lose-lose. The superintendent said he’s also fully aware of the opinion that administrators were overpaid at the last approval of Policy 5310.

“I get that. I hear it,” Woods said. “Those people don’t know what those administrators do.”

He strongly encouraged the school board to consider passing the non-represented group’s salary schedule as they’re the lowest paid group.