The United School Employees of Pasco and the school district administration have reached an agreement very similar to superintendent Heather Fiorentino's original proposal for handling incorrect payments to 43 district employees.

"If you were underpaid, you will be repaid the full amount," employee relations supervisor Kevin Shibley explained. "If you were overpaid, your repayment will be limited to two years."

The district's employee contracts otherwise state that non-instructional workers would be repaid for only two years of underpayments, and teachers would be responsible to pay back the entire amount of their overpayments. Some teachers had been overpaid nearly $20,000 over more than two decades.

The School Board is expected to approve the deal when it meets Tuesday. USEP lead teacher negotiator Jim Ciadella called the proposal "fair."

On Wednesday, the USEP intends to deliver its first salary demand to
the district, Ciadella told the Gradebook. The union had been waiting
for the district's insurance committee to complete its review of new
health and prescription benefits and recommend a new plan to the board.

That review is complete and expected to be made public next week. Ciadella said the results appear favorable to employees, but neither he nor Shibley would reveal any details.

"We asked to resume negotiations on Wednesday," Ciadella said. "We'll
be going to the bargaining table that evening. The union will make its
first financial proposal."