AFSCME Local 1025 v. Sioux Falls School District

Summary

The South Dakota Supreme Court held that grievances filed by AFSCME Local 1025 and the Sioux Falls Education Assistants Association were timely because the alleged violation occurred when the school district applied the agreements and implemented a 2.5% wage increase. The court further held that the district's certification under the 2008 funding statute resulted in a 3% increase in the applicable per-student allocation, entitling the union members to a 3% salary increase.

Holdings

1. The grievances were timely because the agreements permitted grievances concerning either interpretation or application of the agreements, and the alleged incorrect application did not occur until the Board implemented the 2.5% wage increase on June 23, 2008.
2. The labor agreements required a 3% wage increase because the District certified that it would satisfy the statutory teacher-salary requirements, resulting in a 3% increase in the per-student allocation and therefore a 3% increase in the agreements' State Rate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the unions' grievances were timely when filed within thirty days of the District's Board of Education implementing the allegedly improper 2.5% wage increase, even though the unions had earlier learned of the Superintendent's interpretation of the agreements.
2. Whether the labor agreements required a 3% wage increase because the District certified compliance with Senate Bill 187 and thereby received a 3% increase in the statutory per-student allocation.

Disposition

affirmed