Mediation between Blaine County School District and union ends without agreement over staff payment calculations

Daryl Clark, a commissioner of mediation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, led a mediated session between the Blaine County School District and representatives of the Blaine County Education Association but announced the mediation had ended without agreement.

Clark opened by explaining FMCS’s role under federal labor laws and the confidentiality protections that apply to mediation. “The mediators cannot be subpoenaed about what takes place during mediation,” he said, stressing that FMCS serves as a neutral facilitator rather than an enforcer.

The central dispute in the public session concerned how to calculate a previously negotiated one‑time payment for certified staff. Negotiators for the bargaining side described the base arithmetic used in talks: a unit value of $1,172 (described in session as “2% of the BA plus step 1”) multiplied by the then‑negotiation FTE of 276.5 produced $324,022, which, when benefits were added, was reported as $414,748. Participants confirmed the district applied a $50,000 contribution from the PD fund that would reduce the district’s outlay.

District staff said the current certified count and certified FTE had changed since negotiations, producing a lower total when the district used its updated figures; that difference — described in the meeting as a reduction of about 5.5 FTE from the negotiation count — brought the district’s recalculated total to roughly $407,000. The two sides were using different methods (headcount versus FTE‑weighted distribution), which negotiators said caused the confusion.

Jim, a board member speaking for the board, framed the district’s stance in the context of two priorities: maintaining decisions that support student achievement and preserving positions amid a prolonged enrollment decline. “We have made incredible progress since our first ongoing negotiations meeting last September,” he said, and the board intends to present its last best offer as an information item at the Tuesday board meeting for trustees’ consideration.

A representative speaking on behalf of the Blaine County Education Association said the union remained willing to continue negotiating and to review proposals the board put forward. “We just are still willing to negotiate and look at different proposals that are brought up by the board,” the representative said.

No formal motion or vote was recorded in the public portion of the session. After returning to caucus to continue bargaining, Clark later reported the parties had not moved from their initial positions and concluded the mediation for the day. The district’s planned presentation of a last best offer on Tuesday is the next procedural step noted in the meeting.