School Board, Teachers Negotiations Stall

The on-going collective bargaining process regarding the Wolf Point School Board and the Wolf Point Education Association will apparently take a break. During a meeting on Thursday, Nov. 13, the parties agreed to postpone talks until Jan. 12 when hopefully more funding data is available.

The school board is offering a salary increase of 3 percent total for a two-year period. Neither of the years should be less than 1 percent. The WPEA is asking for a 3 percent raise each of the two years.

“They believe the capability is there to go three and three,” mediator Max Hallfrisch of the Montana Board of Personnel Appeals told school officials about the union’s request.

Andy Sever of the Montana School Board Association said the 6 percent overall increase is more than the Wolf Point School District feels it can afford. Sever said almost every school district has experienced a decrease in enrollment due to COVID.

He added that many officials feel that next year’s Montana Legislature will provide less education funding than in the recent past. Sever said the amount for impact aid is also unknown.

Because of these questions, parties decided to wait until January before meeting again. Hallfrisch encouraged the parties to keep in contact and if there are new ideas to discuss, they should contact him.

Earlier in the meeting, Hallfrisch told school board officials that the WPEA feels if Wolf Point changed to the Poplar model for health insurance that it could benefit the school’s general fund.

Sever explained the Poplar model as maximizing deductions and putting those savings into health savings accounts. Any money that isn’t used at the end of the year goes into the school district’s general fund. He feels that school officials would need to start tackling the change now in order to start using it for next school year. “It takes time and trust,” Sever said. “We’re not opposed to it, but we don’t want to commit to the change.”

Earlier in the meeting, Sever noted to Hallfrisch that salary appears to be the only obstacle in the negotiations. “The good news is all the meetings have been productive and all meetings were positive.”

Sever shared data for the 2019-2020 school year. That data showed that Wolf Point School District’s base average of $31,877 ranks 108th out of 221 schools. The 26-year earning potential of $1,381,456 ranks 53rd in the state. The maximum income with a bachelor’s degree of $57,921 ranks 87th and the maximum of $66,942 with a master’s degree ranks 69th.

When family health insurance benefits are included, Wolf Point ranks seventh in the state for 26-year earning potential, 16th for bachelor’s degree maximum and 12th for master’s degree maximum. When a single person’s health benefits are included, Wolf Point ranks 52nd for 26-year earning potential, 78th for bachelor’s degree maximum and 64th for master’s degree maximum.

Wolf Point High School senior Hailey Nelson enjoys achieving and spending time with her classmates at the school.

Her activities include volleyball and National Honor Society.

“I like how I can spend time with my friends and compete with them against other teams,” Nelson said about playing volleyball.

She said one disappointment of her senior season was having matches canceled due to COVID concerns.

“I wished we had more of a season if we didn’t have COVID,” Nelson said.

As a senior, she saw her role on the team as being the leader for the back row.

She explained that playing the libero position has its challenges. “It can be really tough to make good passes to set,” Nelson said.

As far as National Honor Society, she enjoys going out into the community and conducting fundraisers.

She liked handing out suckers to students as a National Honor Society project. “Seeing their faces was cool,” Nelson added.

Nelson, who maintains a 3.61 grade point average, says her favorite class is history with teacher Ryan Wilson.

“The teacher is one of my favorites,” she explained. “He makes it interesting and likes to joke with it.”

Another favorite teacher is Tiffani Darby for English. “She’s always there for me to talk to,” Nelson said.

Nelson plans to study respiratory therapy at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.

“It’s out of my comfort zone, but not too far from home,” Nelson said of U-Mary.