By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Rick Kraus, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for Hutchinson USD 308, says it will likely be later this fall before an agreement is reached between teachers and the district on this year's contract terms.
"The goal is always to have a contract in place before the end of a school year," Kraus said. "We were hoping that this would be the first year we would actually have a contract done in May, but the reality is that when the pandemic hit, the idea of negotiating remotely was not appealing to anybody."
The current school funding formula is so enrollment dependent that it doesn't make sense to set expenses before you know how many students you are serving at this point.
"I think it will be after September 20, probably before we have a lot of conversation about money," Kraus said. "The finance formula from the state of Kansas requires current year weightings. Any change in enrollment may dictate a change in our funding for the current school year. The board is going to want to wait until we know exactly what our enrollment is for the 2021 school year before we know exactly how much money we have to offer for raises across the district for its employees."
School starts Thursday and there are still a large number of families in the district that choose to enroll on opening day, so those numbers aren't solid yet.