No pay increases at West Valley School District

West Valley School District staff will not receive pay increases for the 2017-18 school year.

This will impact approximately 67 current employees, which includes certified and classified staff. Certified staff is primarily made up of teachers. Classified staff typically includes paraeducators, food service, custodial employees and transportation.

Both certified and classified staff will continue to receive annual increases based on years worked in the district. Teachers also receive annual increases based on education level.

New teachers receive a starting salary of $34,542.

Part of the reasoning for not increasing wages was the combination of needing to hire additional staff and less state funding coming in, according to district clerk Cindy Foley. Foley said the district needs to hire another kindergarten teacher to add a fourth class for the 2017-18 school year. In addition, the district will hire a part-time librarian to meet accreditation standards based on the number of students at the school. The district currently has one full-time librarian and hired an aide to meet state mandates in the meantime. Enrollment currently stands at 600 students.

“The WVTA (West Valley Teachers’ Association) agreed to accept a one-year contract; however, we look forward to going back to the negotiations table with our school board for the 2018-2019 school year,” union president Brinn Romagnuolo wrote in an email to the Daily Inter Lake.

Other school districts are in the midst of, or starting negotiations with certified and classified unions. In Whitefish School District, classified staff have nearly reached a contract pending union ratification and board approval, while negotiations for certified staff have recently begun.

Columbia Falls School District is still in negotiations with its teacher’s union. The classified union is in the second year of a two-year contract and about 130 employees in this group will see a 2-percent increase for the 2017-18 school year.

This is also a negotiating year for certified and classified staff in Bigfork School District.

Evergreen and Somers-Lakeside school district are each in negotiating years for classified staff.

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.