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Teachers urge transparency after negotiation shift; substitutes and workload singled out in public comment
Summary
Teachers and a teacher negotiator told the board about an ongoing substitute shortage that forces temporary 'overflow study halls' and described a negotiation process that began cooperatively but later tied proposed pay to increased daily teaching loads; teachers called for clearer administration transparency and legislative advocacy.
Several teachers and a teacher negotiator used the public-comment period to press the Flathead School District board on staffing and bargaining.
Lynn Ryder, speaking as a teacher representative, said the district has faced a persistent substitute shortage since February that has led to temporary measures such as reassigning teachers from duties to monitor large "overflow" study halls; she warned that one teacher sometimes supervises more than 50 students and urged the board to examine reassignments and staffing patterns.
Jared Stomp, a Glacier High School teacher, gave a pointed update on the bargaining process. He said early talks with central administration were collaborative but later changed when the administration tied a proposed salary matrix to a requirement that some teachers teach six of seven periods. Stomp said the parties had been close financially earlier in the process and that, by the end, the gap was about $600,000. He urged the board and administration to be transparent about past statements and to coordinate on advocacy with the Montana Legislature.
"If you want our members to trust the central administration and school board, then you really need to own what's been said in the past," Stomp said, urging common ground on pay and asking the board to join teachers in state-level advocacy.
The board acknowledged the comments; trustees and administrators later referenced negotiation timelines and the budget as a major district focus in the administration report. No board action on bargaining was taken during the meeting; administrators noted finance committee work and said further discussions and committee meetings are scheduled.
