Posted on

Teachers, School District Start Mediation

Teachers, School District Start Mediation Teachers, School District Start Mediation

Mediator David Luckey for the State of Montana feels progress was made during conversations with Wolf Point School District officials and the Wolf Point Education Association on Tuesday, June 14.

At the conclusion of the meeting, which started prior to 5 p.m. and ended shortly before 11 p.m., Luckey said both sides seemed to be pleased with the progress.

Because of scheduling conflicts, the date for the next mediation meeting has yet to be determined. Both parties made proposals during the night. The last proposal from the school district included a pay increase of 3 percent in the first year, 2 percent for the second year and 1 percent for the third year.

After that proposal, the teachers’ union decided not to continue because not all of its leadership team could be in attendance.

“I can respect their decision of not having everybody there,” Luckey said.

The start of the meeting included Luckey listing his ground rules. He visited with the teachers for about 15 minutes before coming to the room with the school district’s representatives.

“It sounds like there’s been a lot of paper work back and forth,” he said.

Andrew Vigeland, attorney for the Montana School Boards Association, introduced himself to the Wolf Point Education Association’s members. “I view tonight as a new starting point,” Vigeland said.

He noted that his goal is to have something that will be great for the students during the next three years.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the last salary proposal by the education association was a 9 percent pay increase for the first year, 4 percent for the second year and 4 percent for the third year.

The Wolf Point School District proposed two salary schedules to the Wolf Point Education Association on April 26. The Plan A package offers a 2 percent increase to the base salary for 2022-2023, a 1 percent increase for 2023-2024 and a 1 percent increase for the 2023-2024 school year. The Plan B package proposed by the Wolf Point School District features increasing the base salary to $38,000, an increase of 15.14 percent, for the 2022-2023 school year, increasing the base salary to $39,000 for the 2023-2024 school year and increasing the base salary to $40,000 for the 2024-2025 school year. Representatives of the Wolf Point Education Association have said that the Plan B proposal, which includes a new attainment level or salary schedule, doesn’t provide suitable increases for the school district’s more experienced teachers.

“We asked teachers what they wanted to see, and they said higher wages for new teachers,” trustee Lanette Clark said.

Business manager Cheri’ Nygard said the school board has expressed that the most the school district could afford using the current attainment level or salary schedule was increases of 2 percent for year one, 1 percent for year two and 1 percent for year three.

“We can’t sustain the attainment level much longer,” Nygard said.

Clark added that teachers wish to add new employees including a dean of students.

Vigeland said he feels that funds received through House Bill 143 could help the school district to a point. The bill has the state offering financial incentives to school districts who offer teachers who are in the first three years on the job higher wages.

A proposal made by the school district on Tuesday was for a 2.5 percent increase in the first year, 1.25 the second year and 1.25 percent the third year. Payments for longevity were also included in the proposal.

The response from the teachers’ union was a proposal of 8 percent in the first year, 4 percent the second year and 4 percent the third year.

One piece of language that the school district seems to want to change involves the handling of nontenure teachers. The school district wants the ability to nonrenew the employment of a nontenure teacher at the conclusion of the school fiscal year with or without cause. Teachers note the benefits of having a written plan for improvement made by administrators to help instructors get better.

Luckey said the teachers seem to not be willing to change that language for the next contract.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LATEST NEWS