We want all public school students and staff to learn and work in healthy and safe school buildings each day. We must address the hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and chronic understaffing of critical facilities staff. Workers deserve a formal voice at the table in the form of a joint union-district Health & Safety Commission to ensure the district is accountable to workers, students, and parents. We call on district staff and elected officials to commit to a historic multi-billion dollar school bond referendum on the ballot in November 2026 and increase the county’s appropriations for maintenance and operations to address facilities issues in WCPSS schools. We cannot accept any cuts to staffing or benefits: we cannot afford to lose any more staff in this moment of crisis.

For the FY26 budget, we call for continued investment in maintenance and operations to address ongoing facilities issues at schools across WCPSS:

1. School Bond Referendum: a multi-billion dollar school bond to fix facilities issues related to deferred maintenance (HVAC, mold, vermin, etc);
2. Money: $10M investment over 2 years from county commissioners to give WCPSS more money to hire and retain maintenance staff to address facilities issues effectively and efficiently;
3. Worker Voice: a formal voice at the table in the form of a joint union-district Health and Safety Commission to ensure the district is accountable to workers;
4. No Cuts: given the dire state of staffing, proposed cuts to health benefits (dental) and staffing (building substitutes, assistant principals, others) are unacceptable.