Whitefish teachers reject contract

Whitefish School District teacher contract negotiations are at a stalemate.

Members of the Whitefish Education Association rejected a proposed contract Wednesday after more than 14 months of negotiations with Whitefish School District.

The Whitefish School Board had unanimously approved the contract at a special meeting Tuesday.  

The one-year contract would have gone into effect for the 2012-13 school year and included a one percent pay raise. Last year, teachers did not take a raise in light of the economy.

In the meantime, teachers’ contracts reverted to a 2010-11 contract July 1. This contract included a pay freeze, but teachers continue to benefit from regularly scheduled steps and lanes, moving up in the pay scale.

Fourteen months is an unusually long time to settle a contract, union president Gayle Graf said before a vote was taken Wednesday. She said negotiations typically last from three to four months.

Negotiations began in October 2011. On Oct. 24, 2012, the two parties participated in a mediation session without resolution.

The union has three primary contract concerns: salary, workload and the number of professional development days.

In addition to a one percent raise on the base salary, teachers would have received a one-time $850 bonus under the proposed contract. Base pay is $31,070 but starting teachers actually receive a $33,369 salary — not including the one percent raise.

Because the bonus was not included in the base salary, it became a sticking point.

“By doing it this way, it doesn’t help retirement and we’re penalized with taxes,” Graf said.

Whitefish School Board Chairwoman Pat Jarvi said keeping the bonus separate from the base salary is due to concerns about what next year’s operating budget would be.

“If we put it on the base it carries over to next year,” Jarvi said, noting that the board was leery about making that commitment before the legislative session was over.

In an email to The Daily Inter Lake Nov. 1, Graf said creating a sensible workload was a priority:

“It has been on the table and a priority for both sides to come up with a schedule which better equalizes the workload for teachers districtwide. Some teachers see well over 200 students while others may see only 40.”

Raising to 10 the number of professional development days — Pupil Instruction-Related days — has also been a focus of negotiations for the union.

Pupil Instruction-Related days were reduced from 10 to seven when the 2011-12 contract expired and a new one wasn’t reached by June.

Three days previously scheduled as days off for students and professional development for staff were changed back to school days.

Jarvi said the two parties likely will decide when and how to meet to continue negotiations after the winter break that concludes Jan. 1.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.