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Williston Basin School District # 7 School Board, the Williston Education Association, and the Williston Administrators Association are happy to announce the Negotiated Agreement for our Teachers and Administration was approved and ratified on May 2, 2023. This new agreement will go into effect on July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025. Dr. Richard Faidley states “I am excited that the negotiations process was built on mutual respect, equity, and collaboration.  The WBSD7 teachers, support staff, and administrators form the foundation of our collective vision moving forward.  When employee groups are heard and validated, it creates positive morale for all.  Our teachers, support staff, and administrators go above and beyond daily for our students.  It is because of their efforts that the District is poised to do great things for children moving forward.  Congratulations on a well-deserved compensation package”.  Chris Jundt states "The school board appreciates the collaborative efforts between the Negotiations Committee, Williston Education Association, and Williston Basin Administrators Association that has led to the successful completion of negotiations.  The negotiated agreement with both the Williston Education Association and Williston Basin Administrators Association provides an attractive salary and benefit package that will retain the talented staff members that we have while also recruiting new staff to our growing district.  We look forward to working with both associations in the future to further the academic successes of the students we serve."

Some highlights from the new agreements:

●     Salary schedule:  The base increased $600 to $48,000 with a 5% salary increase across the board for all returning teachers to the district in Year 

●     Personal Days:  Increased to 4 (up from 3) per year and also increased cumulative max to 6 days (up from 5)

●     Tuition Reimbursement:  Increased lifetime benefit for bachelor’s degree courses to $1,750 (up from $1,500), for master’s degree courses to $4,000 (from $3,500) and for Doctorate degree courses to $6,000 (from $5,000)

●   Six-Twelve  In-House Substitute Compensation:  When classes are combined due to not being able to find a substitute teacher, the teacher covering will be compensated $30 per class period.  This is an addition as previously teachers were not paid for doubled up classes.

 ●     Prior Experience:  New to the district teachers will be allowed to bring in a maximum of 15 years (up from 13) of teaching experience and CTE teachers who have experience outside of teaching will be allowed to bring in up to 10 years of work experience

●     Health Insurance:  For married couples where the District employs both spouses, the District’s contribution to the employee’s health savings account increased to $2,500 (from $2,000) for those that participate in the high deductible/health savings plan.

●     Payout of unused sick leave at retirement:  Increased maximum payout of sick leave to eligible retirees to $6,000 (up from $5,000) plus adding the possibility of an additional $1,000 if retirement notice is received by the district prior to March 1 of the year of retirement.

 

While these changes affect our teachers and administrators only, the District is also working hard to bring some positive changes to our classified staff as well.  On Monday, May 8th, 2023 the WBSD #7 Board took official action on Dr. Faidley's recommendation for support staff. These recommendations include:

  • Salary Increase:  All classified staff will receive a 4% raise on their current pay rate.
  • Personal Days: Increased to 4 (up from 3) per year.
  • Vacation Days: For employees who are eligible to accrue vacation, they will be allowed to rollover up to 40 unused vacation hours into the next fiscal year.
  • Paid Holidays: Adding 2 additional holidays (President’s Day and a floating holiday) to the current paid holiday schedule.

We are pleased that all employee groups received equitable compensation packages.  The WBSD #7 looks forward to working collaboratively and improving our great school District.