Whitefish trustees approve one-year teacher contract

The Whitefish School District and the Whitefish Education Association have come to terms on a one-year contract that includes pay increases and a bonus for veteran educators.

The Whitefish School Board voted unanimously March 8 in approval of the 2016-17 contract.

Both sides agreed the negotiating process went smoothly. According to Gayle Graf, president of the teacher’s association, the contract garnered the first unanimous vote of approval from the WEA in recent history.

“It felt really good for all of us,” Graf said.

Whitefish Superintendent Heather Davis Schmidt added that a supportive negotiating process led to respectful dialogue.

“I really appreciated everyone’s honesty and positive participation in the process,” she said. “It didn’t have that feeling of negativity constantly. Instead, we talked positively about the process and that made the difference.”

Both sides hoped for more than a one-year deal, but Davis Schmidt noted that it’s difficult to know how much funding will be available to schools until the state Legislature meets again.

“I think that everyone would have liked more than one year, but there are no negative feelings about going back into [contract negotiations] next year,” Graf added.

The agreement includes a 2.75 percent bump on the base salary for all teachers, and a longevity stipend of 5 percent of the base salary for teachers in their 19th year at the district.

The district starts teachers at $36,747. The salary for a teacher with 18 years of experience, a master’s degree and additional credits tops out at $75,226 on the matrix.

Trustee Dave Fern questioned if the district could maintain the 5 percent stipend for veteran teachers. He would have rather seen those funds put on the base wage increase to boost starting salaries.

“There needs to be good balance in top end and bottom end of salary,” Fern said. “We should try to make the salaries at the start as high as possible, because it’s really hard to live [in Whitefish]. $36,000 is still pretty modest. I’m concerned about that.”

Davis Schmidt said recent teacher contracts addressed starting wages by bumping new teachers up in the matrix.

She noted that a recent salary analysis showed Whitefish teachers are the third highest paid in the state, only behind Polson and Ronan. That same analysis also showed that the one area Whitefish lagged was in the top tier of the matrix.

“There was clearly a disconnect between starting, mid-level and veteran salaries,” she said.

The new contract also allows unused days of sick leave each year to accumulate up to 132 days.

Stipends were made available for middle school football, middle school cross-country, middle school student council advisor, and for the Federal Perkins Grant Coordinator at the high school.

The contract calls for a district labor management committee to meet at least four times a year to resolve day-to-day issues.