(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by St. Cloud Area School District.)

St. Cloud Area School District 742 and the Service Employees International Union, Local 284, are pleased to report that they have reached a tentative two-year agreement for the 2021-2023 contract with the Nutritional Services employees of the district, subject to ratification by unit members and approval by the school board. The nutritional services bargaining unit represents approximately 100 employees of the school district who perform critical student support services in St. Cloud schools and programs every day.

Supt. Willie Jett says, “We are excited to reach a settlement with this important employee group before the start of the school year. Their hard work, dedication, and commitment help ensure that our students receive nutritious meals every school day, and they worked tirelessly during distance learning to provide meals to our students, even when they were learning from home.”

The 2019-2021 contract expired on June 30th and district administration and the nutritional services bargaining team worked quickly to develop a mutually acceptable agreement before the start of the school year. For 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, for each year of the contract the terms of the agreement include increases in hourly rates for all employees and increases to longevity pay for employees with five or more years of service.

In addition to these pay changes, the school board has authorized significant increases in health insurance contributions for all non-licensed school staff, as well as $1,500 per year in recruitment and retention stipends for all employees of the school district for the next two years.

Nutritional Services staff will vote on the agreement in early September and if approved, the school board will vote on the agreement at their regularly scheduled board meeting, September 15th.