School budget includes pay raises, new teachers

Pay raises for staff and the addition of two teachers at Muldown are included in the Whitefish School District’s 2016 budget.

The Whitefish School Board voted unanimously Aug. 10 in support of the $17 million fiscal plan. The budget total is up 4 percent over last year.

In her budget message, district business director Danelle Reisch noted that the teacher union contract included a salary provision tied to the district’s budget increase. With the budget total going up, teachers and staff will receive a 3 percent pay raise on their base salary, which results to about a 4.6 percent pay increase after steps and lanes are included.

Classified staff will see a 50 cents per hour raise and increased starting wages as a result of their negotiated contract.

Muldown will pick up a few new teachers under the budget. The elementary school will bring on first and second grade teachers, along with a part-time librarian, and part-time art and gifted instructor.

Whitefish Middle School will bring on a part-time special education teacher and take on funding for seventh and eighth grade football and cross-country teams.

Reisch points out that most of the general fund budget — 63 percent — is spent on teachers salaries. School maintenance expenses account for 10 percent of the budget. Extracurricular activities, including coaching stipends, travel and equipment, make up only 4 percent of the budget.

One area of discussion among the board was about the district’s technology fund, which decreased for the first time after five consecutive years of growth. Reisch said the fund spiked in 2014 and 2015 while the new high school was being built. She suggested that current technology levies, approved in 2007, will likely need to be increased in the coming years.

Reisch said changes in laws resulted in big increases to the budget’s tuition funds. With the changes, the district can now levy to provide services to special education students within the district.