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Blaine County trustees ratify teacher master agreement, set contract deadlines and 1% pay bump for classified staff
Summary
The Blaine County School District No. 61 Board of Trustees voted to ratify a negotiated master agreement after the bargaining unit approved it, set a 10-day deadline for certified-contract returns and approved a 1% base pay increase and insurance coverage for classified and administrative staff.
Blaine County School District No. 61 trustees on Friday ratified a negotiated master agreement with the district’s bargaining unit after the union reported strong member support. The board also set a 10-day deadline for returning certified contracts and approved a 1% increase on base pay for classified and administrative employees while covering increased health and dental insurance costs.
The ratification followed a union ratification reported to the board: the bargaining unit measured 87.12% of its votes in favor with a 71% member turnout, the board was told. The board then moved and approved ratification of the agreement in open session.
Board members and district leadership described the agreement as negotiated amid constrained district finances. District leadership said the agreement honors existing salary steps and lanes, covers increased employee health-insurance costs and provides a 1% base-salary increase for the first year. Funding for the first-year increase was described as coming from interest on the district’s emergency fund and adjustments to the professional-development bank.
District staff told trustees that the parties agreed a levy will need to be run — in either November or May — to address long-term underfunding identified during negotiations. Trustees also discussed the continuing need to explore cost savings, including potential building consolidation, further program reductions and possible full-time-equivalent (FTE) cuts to address projected revenue shortfalls.
Following ratification, Human Resources asked the board to set a timeline for issuing certified contracts. Per the presentation, Idaho law defaults to a 21-day return period unless the board sets a different deadline; the board voted to set the minimum 10-day return deadline to accelerate onboarding given the late hiring season.
On a related personnel item, the board approved extending the same 1% base increase to classified staff, administrators and directors, and agreed to honor steps and lanes and to cover the year’s health and dental premium increases.
Trustees emphasized the difficulty of negotiating raises while forecasting a district deficit. Trustee Turner said the increase tested the district’s fiscal flexibility but expressed support for teachers as an essential district asset. District leadership said the ongoing negotiations team will prioritize efficiency in future talks and will update grievance and certification procedures first.
No formal roll-call vote counts for the board’s ratification or for the other motions were recorded in the transcript beyond the board approving the motions in open session. The board held the actions in the action portion of the meeting after returning from an executive session called under Idaho statute about labor-contract matters.
