News

Teachers' contracts discussed at meeting

By Heather Milbrath

08/06/2013

A public impasse meeting was held on Monday, Aug. 5 at 3 p.m. pertaining to the teacher contracts. Due to the inability of the school board and the Bottineau Education Association (BEA) to come to a resolution regarding teacher contracts, impasse was declared by both sides.

This public meeting was scheduled to serve as a forum for both groups to present their sides to the Education Factfinding Commission (EFC): a board based out of the North Dakota governor’s office.

The board is comprised of three members, one appointed by the governor, one appointed by the attorney general and the final appointed by the superintendent of public instruction. According to the North Dakota Office of the Governor website, the board’s main function is to hold hearings for schools to help resolve impasses for teacher contract negotiations.

Those currently serving on the EFC are Barbara Evenson, a retired teacher from Bismarck; Jerry Hieb, a retired teacher from Valley City; and the chairman, Dean Rummel, a businessman from Dickinson. The board started the meeting by setting some ground rules and introductions.

Three Bottineau Public School (BPS) teachers and one North Dakota Education Association (NDEA) UniServ Director were present to represent the BEA. Dana Alinder, Rodney Schmidt and Elaine Bittle were the teachers representing the BEA, with Schmidt being the spokesperson. Jane Rupprecht was the UniServ Director from the NDEA there to assist the BEA.

There to represent the school board was Deb Nelson, BPS business director, Jason Kersten, BPS superintendent and six of seven BPS board members. Also there to represent and serve as spokesperson for the board was attorney Rachel A. Bruner-Kaufman. Bruner-Kaufman is an associate at the Pearce & Durick Law Firm in Bismarck. Bruner-Kaufman focuses on education law, and said that it is pretty common for boards to hire an outside person to handle their impasse.

“I’ve done the majority of them this year for the schools that have gone to impasse.” Bruner-Kaufman said. “My firm strictly represents the school board and the district, not the teachers.”

After introductions, both the BEA and the school board were given the opportunity to give opening statements.     

Bruner-Kaufman started out by outlining what had already been agreed upon and outlined the current issue. Although the salary had not been settled, the main struggle for both sides was the Teachers’ Fund for Retirement (TFFR). Bruner-Kaufman stated that it would be incredibly expensive for the district to continue to cover both sides of TFFR.

Schmidt spoke to the EFC about how teachers were a valuable asset to the district and how they need to continue to attract and retain the highest quality teachers they can. Schmidt went on to say how passionate the teachers felt about their full TFFR being covered and stated that they were willing to take a lower base pay increase to offset the TFFR coverage.

Next both sides were given the opportunity for justification of their standpoints. Bruner-Kaufman pointed out that the district is not required to cover all of the TFFR and that many districts do not cover all of it. She went on to explain that the future of the TFFR is uncertain, and can continue to increase, in which case the board could not afford to cover all of it.

Schmidt started out by telling the EFC that in too many instances the board tied together the school proposal for a new building with the teacher contracts. The BEA feels that their contracts should not be based upon the school’s new building plans because the two are separate issues.
Next on the agenda were questions from the EFC to help clarify the concerns of both groups. Then the chairman provided the audience the opportunity to voice their concerns.

Those who chose to speak were all current or former teachers at BPS. Michelle Rebenitsch, current Jr. High Reading and Social Studies teacher told the EFC that in her 24 years of teaching at BPS the TFFR has always been paid for on both sides by the board.

“This is part of a negotiated agreement,” Rebenitsch said. “We don’t want to give up standards already negotiated in years past. Also, some new teachers were hired this spring and one benefit listed for them was full TFFR coverage when they were hired. This to me shows that the board recognizes the importance of fully covering TFFR.”

Chairman Rummel wrapped up the forum by explaining what steps will precede this meeting. According to the North Dakota Century Code, the EFC must deliver its findings within 40 days from the date the commission is contacted for assistance.

This means that the EFC will have until Aug. 12 to deliver its final statement. This final statement will be sent to Mark Pewe (school board president), Kersten and Alinder.

This report can be accessed by the public, and if anyone in the public would like a copy of the EFC’s report, they can contact Kersten after Aug. 12.

Once this report has been received by Pewe, Alinder and Kersten, both sides must meet at least one time within 20 days to try to come to an agreement. If they still cannot agree, both sides will have to pay for a full page ad in the local paper with the board’s recommendation, and reasons why an agreement was not reached.

Rummel wanted to point out that this contract is not binding, but is terminal; therefore negotiations will come to an end.