School board members approved the revised contract during their regular board meeting Monday. Board member Stephanie Shupe, one of the three board members on the negotiating team for the district, was absent. Other members on the negotiation team are Justin Sturgeon and Chris Gratton. Teachers ratified the agreement this past Thursday.

There were five negotiation meetings, two mediation sessions and additional work done to finalize language in the agreement, according to Assistant Superintendent Tonya Phillips.

Teachers have a contract after a fourth of the school year has concluded. Parent-teacher conferences later this week mark the first nine weeks of the academic year.

The largest point of contention during the impasse was double docking of paid-time off for faculty during professional development and a few other days.

As part of the updated agreement, teachers have eight professional development days, the first day of school and the last day of school in which they will be double docked, or have to spend double the paid-time off hours, to be gone. The number went down from 22 days originally in the proposed contract. There also are certain exceptions for taking off when teachers would not be docked based on certain reasons, and will require requests for approval from the superintendent.

Teachers held walk-ins at the beginning of class on certain days and took to social media to express their position. Community members rallied behind the teachers on social media during the impasse.

“It was a lengthy process,” Sturgeon said during Monday’s meeting. “We did end up going to mediation. Ultimately there were give-and-takes from both sides and to me, that’s what compromise is all about.”

Enrollment down this year

Tonganoxie USD 464’s enrollment is down 57 students from 2025-26.

Districts submit enrollment numbers as of Sept. 20 or around that date depending whether it falls on a weekend. This year, districts submitted numbers to the state on Sept. 21.

Headcount was 1,914 students, full-time equivalent was 1,836 and adjusted full-time equivalent was 1,887.7. The FTE number was down 52.2 from 2026-27 and 26.6 for adjusted FTE.

If a student only attends half-time, the student is counted as .5.

Adjusted FTE utilizes a 3-year average of FTE, excluding 3- and 4-year old at-risk, virtual and KAMS.

Superintendent Shawn Poyser said the district receives about $6,000 per FTE student number, so USD 464 will be receiving around $150,000 less in funding this year due to the decline. He noted that the district built its budget with projected numbers in mind.

In other business, the school board:

l Approved an additional warrant list, 6-0

l Approved its strategic plan, 6-0. The district will pay the Kansas Association of School Boards $7,500 and any other expenses KASB incurs for strategic planning services per the agreement.

l Approved classified raises. Board President Justin Sturgeon moved the final action item on the agenda to after executive session. The board met for a total of 80 minutes in executive session. After the executive session, the board approved a raise of $0.30 an hour for classified staff and approved a backfill elementary school secretary position for Dallas Castillo.