Roberts School District board approves new teacher pay matrix, superintendent contract and multiple staff renewals

The Roberts School District No. 5 Board of Trustees voted April 16 to approve a new certified teacher salary matrix, accept a superintendent employment contract with an added national‑conference reimbursement, renew multiple staff contracts and grant tenure to one teacher.

Michelle Swansborough, chair of the Roberts School District No. 5 Board of Trustees, presented the negotiators’ recommendation for a revised salary matrix that raises Lane 6 to Master’s +30 credits and said negotiators adjusted the plan to avoid harming some teachers. "The teachers were generous as they asked for a new matrix but not also a percentage increase," Swansborough said during the meeting.

Trustee Joel Bertolino moved to approve the certified negotiations as presented; the motion carried unanimously (YES: Swansborough, Dobbel, Bertolino, Bissonnette, Norman). Teacher and staff speakers praised the matrix. Ed Zink said the change "makes us more competitive," and community member Cody Mitchell asked whether the district could create ways to reward high‑performing new teachers.

The board also approved a proposed contract for candidate Dan Grabowska with the addition of reimbursement for attendance at the national conference for the School Administrators of Montana. Vice Chair Nick Dobbel introduced the contract terms and Trustee Joel Bertolino moved to approve the contract with that conference reimbursement; the motion was approved unanimously.

On personnel actions, trustees voted unanimously to renew tenured teachers Jaclyn Jessen, Katy Rausch, Brian Frank, Peter Wisniewski, Darryl Grove and Misty Pitts, and to renew non‑tenured teachers Sarah Clark, Ed Zink and Janice Polzien. The board also voted to renew and grant tenure to Denyse Vanek. Consideration of renewal for non‑tenured staff David Jarussi, Rio Chadde, Theresa Kosel and Lisa Young was tabled pending clarification of pay rates.

Superintendent Alex Ator told the board the district has about $12,000 in REAP funds and proposed using roughly $750 per teacher for classroom orders this year; Vice Chair Dobbel suggested waiting until a new administrator is in place before spending those funds. Ator also recommended the district consider joining Montana Rural Education Association (MREA) and switching to Black Mountain Software for business operations; trustees did not take action on those recommendations at the meeting.

Trustees adopted Draft A of the 2025–26 school calendar, with teachers beginning Aug. 13, 2025, students beginning Aug. 18, and an end date of June 3, 2026. The vote to adopt the calendar was unanimous.

The meeting opened with public comment that included an announcement from Rio Chadde that the Science Fair is scheduled for May 1, 2025, and a short comment from activities director Darryl Grove about the Pledge of Allegiance. Facilities and operations items discussed included an estimated $1,300 cost to repair or replace certain state boards used for athletic displays and several outstanding maintenance issues noted by the safety committee.

Chair Swansborough called an executive session at 7:35 p.m. for a personnel matter; the board returned to open session at 9:05 p.m. and adjourned the meeting. The board did not vote on any policy changes at this meeting; several items were postponed for future consideration.

Votes at a glance - Minutes of March 19, 2025 meeting: approved (motion: Joel Bertolino; second: Brad Norman). - Warrants and payroll (warrants 51033–51104, direct deposit listing 223, payroll, non‑payroll, student checks 9299–9306): approved (motion: Joel Bertolino; second: Michael Bissonnette). - Accept resignations (D. Grove, T. Kosel, J. Milligan): approved (motion: Joel Bertolino). - Advertise in‑house for extra custodial help and summer school help: approved (motions: Joel Bertolino). - Certified negotiations (new salary matrix): approved (motion: Joel Bertolino). - Superintendent contract for Dan Grabowska with national conference reimbursement: approved (motion: Joel Bertolino). - Renewal of tenured and specified non‑tenured staff and grant of tenure to Denyse Vanek: approved (motions: Brad Norman, Joel Bertolino). - 2025–26 school calendar (Draft A): approved (motion: Brad Norman; second: Michael Bissonnette).

Next steps noted by district staff include developing a fair application process for workforce housing with RLACF and finalizing teacher hiring advertisements for 7–12 math and science positions.