Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Relations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board ratifies two-year certified contract with retro pay amid $2.7M shortfall projection
Summary
The Kalispell Public Schools Board approved a two-year collective bargaining agreement for certified staff with retroactive pay for 2024–25; administrators warned of a roughly $2.7 million current-year gap that could be reduced if a state quality-educator payment and local levies materialize.
The Kalispell Public Schools Board voted to ratify a two-year collective bargaining agreement for certified staff, approving amendments that include removal of one clause and retroactive pay for the 2024–25 school year.
Matt Jensen, superintendent, opened the board discussion by reading a supporting letter that framed the pact as the product of months of negotiation and singled out four priorities that guided bargaining: “high quality teaching and learning,” local cost-of-living pressures, limited local funding and constraints in state funding, he said. Jensen said the agreement represents “our best ability to allocate projected funding towards salaries and benefits.”
Why it matters: Board finance staff told trustees the tentative settlement would create a significant shortfall under current revenue assumptions. Chris, the district finance lead, said the district’s last counteroffer and the split between the district and the union leaves an estimated $2.7 million deficit for this fiscal year and a potentially large variance for next year that depends on state action and levy results. He described one accounting for stipends anchored to the highest-paid teacher — a 44.4% figure that translates, in the district’s model, into a $35,975 base for stipend calculations.
The board’s motion, made by Trustee Sue Corrigan and seconded by Trustee Linda, approved the CBA as presented with removal of section 8.2.0.1(f), the amended 9.1 language and retroactive pay for the 2024–25 year. Trustees acknowledged the Kalispell Education Association (KEA) still needed to ratify the agreement; officials said the KEA negotiating team had the document to present to membership.
Public comment and teacher testimony ran through the decision. Greg Adkins, a longtime district staff member and youth coach, urged trustees to keep community ties strong; teacher voices focused on lower starting pay and family impacts. “I have been a teacher here at Flathead High School my entire career… I just wanted to say thank you for the humanizing conversation that I heard,” teacher Megan Copas told the board, urging attention to first-year teachers’ cost-of-living challenges.
Trustees emphasized the contingencies that shape whether the settlement will be budget-neutral: a proposed quality-educator payment pending at the state level and a potential high-school levy that could add roughly $3 million if passed. Finance staff stressed that without the state payment or levy support, the district will need additional measures, including planned reductions in force and other cost adjustments, to close projected gaps.
The board approved the motion after further discussion and public comment. Trustees directed staff to proceed with the ratification process and to return with implementation details, including timelines for retroactive payments if the KEA ratifies the agreement.
What’s next: Officials said the KEA vote remains outstanding; if the union approves the agreement, the district will seek to make retroactive payments before the end of December and will update the board on specific payroll timing and follow-up fiscal steps.
