The impasse in Grand Forks teacher contract negotiations was resolved Wednesday when School Board members voted, without dissent, to ratify the one-year agreement reached July 17 between its representatives and the teachers' negotiating team.
The favorable vote means that in the next school year roughly $782,000, or 1.86 percent, more will be spent for teacher salaries compared with last year.
The cost for the total package-including the district's contributions to the teachers' retirement fund and Social Security and Medicare benefits-is $2.25 million in each of the next two years. That means a 3.86 percent increase for next year.
That cost is effective for the next two years because it will be part of the teachers' salary schedule.
"It will be the same in 2018-19 even without negotiated changes next year," said Board President Doug Carpenter.
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The increase takes into account an additional 2 percent, from 76 to 78 percent, in the cost of employees' health insurance premiums that the district agreed to pick up.
The agreement called for salary increases on the basis of years of teaching, according to the 2016-17 teacher salary schedule, but no additional increases. It also allowed for an additional $500 salary increase for teachers at the top of the salary schedule.
The Grand Forks Education Association, which represents district teachers, voted unanimously Monday to accept the agreement.
School Board members who were present at Wednesday's special meeting-Eric Burin, Amber Flynn, Meggen Sande and Carpenter, voted to ratify the agreement.
Present via speakerphone, Eric Lunn and Dane Ferguson, also voted to approve it.
Katie Dachtler abstained from voting, citing a conflict of interest.
Matt Spivey and Cynthia Shabb were absent.
The school district can now move forward with drawing up teacher contracts for the 2017-18 school year, but Carpenter and others have expressed concern that contract negotiations next spring may be just as difficult, if not more so, since the 2017 North Dakota Legislature froze per-pupil payments to school districts for the next two years.
