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Coaches say new extracurricular pay formula left some veterans worse off; district, union discuss fixes
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Summary
Grand Forks administrators and the teachers' union described a multiyear process to revise extracurricular pay; the change to a percentage-based experience increment (3% up to 10 years) and weeks adjustments produced gains for many but left some veteran coaches reporting substantial contract losses, prompting calls for short-term remedies and closer communication.
The Grand Forks School Board spent a sustained portion of its meeting on a review and public discussion of a recently revised extracurricular pay schedule that participants said produced uneven results.
Activities director Mike Biermeyer described the district'led review of activity contracts and weeks worked, saying the goal was to align weeks paid to actual seasons and to correct longstanding inequities. "We found some that needed to be increased based on their schedule," Biermeyer said, noting adjustments to weeks for student congress and middle-school music production among others.
The district moved experience pay away from a flat-dollar model (previously $6 per week times years of experience) to a percentage of base pay. Biermeyer said the district adopted a 3% experience increment up to 10 years as part of that change. "A 3% over 10 years sounds like a good fit," he said, explaining the rationale for a percentage model to improve equity across varying contract lengths.
Joe Drumm, representing the Grand Forks Education Association, described the MOU and negotiation process that produced the proposal but said calculation errors became apparent after contracts were issued. He said those errors caused some individuals with 15-plus years of experience to lose between $1,000 and over $3,000 on a single contract year. "Individuals at the top end, 15 plus years of experience so far to this year, have seen a decrease in their pay anywhere from $1,000 to over $3,000 for their contract," Drumm said.
Several veteran coaches came forward during public testimony to describe losses. Bridal Strom, a middle-school coach, said her football contract paid about $120 less this year for the same eight-week assignment. Jeremy Sabula said his take-home pay for September was $10 higher than last year but that losses on multiple coaching contracts could still yield net reductions for staff who coach more than one sport. One coach who identified himself as Olson told the board his extracurricular pay was about $2,100 lower than last year for the same work.
Board members and negotiators discussed short-term remedies and next steps. Drumm offered a short-term fix using the negotiated agreement's Section 12 as a mechanism to bring affected individuals back in line with previously expected amounts while longer-term solutions are pursued at the next negotiation cycle (2027). District officials acknowledged the miscalculation and said they aim to correct errors where possible.
Board members asked for legal guidance about reopening or amending the contract outside the usual cycle and pressed both sides on communication to affected members. Several board members emphasized that both the district and GFEA share responsibility for double-checking calculations before contracts are finalized.
No board action was taken at the meeting on this topic; the discussion was recorded as fact-finding and the district and union indicated plans to pursue remedial steps.
