Local school districts are finishing negotiations with teachers, administrators and staff.
And there is some disappointment with the amount of state money for schools.
The Legislature approved increasing state funding for schools by two-and-a-half percent per year over the next two years.
"That really should have been three percent, in my opinion," said Rep. Scott Louser (R-Minot), who is also on the Minot School Board. "The House proposal was at a two percent per-pupil increase, the Senate was at three, and the compromise was two and a half."
Louser said he wished it would have been at three percent.
"That would have made a big difference to a lot of local school districts," Louser said.
Louser was on the negotiating team for the school board, when it sat down with the Minot Education Association. He said the two sides agreed to a one-year contract, rather than a two year contract. Louser says the base pay for teachers was not increased -- but teachers who are on the “matrix” will receive step-raises, as per the existing schedule, based on years of service.
"For those teachers — and there are quite a few of them — who were maxed out, we gave a 'retention bonus,' Louser said. "The retention bonus was either $750 or $1200, depending on their level of education."
Louser said the one year contract was worked out with the hope that the financial picture would improve in the second year of the biennium. But he said the cap on raising property taxes – which is a three percent increase per year – will affect school districts even more than other political subdivisions, because they don’t have other options to raise money. He described it as a “triangle.”
"One side is, we are mandated to levy to 60 mills," Louser said. "A second side is the three percent cap. And the third side is the per pupil payment increase we received at two and a half percent. It's a triangle that school districts are operating in, and getting squeezed."
Louser said there was an attempt in the Legislature to exempt schools from the three percent cap – but that didn’t happen.
