Bemidji educators secure contract following school board approval

Apr. 15—BEMIDJI — A nine-and-a-half-month streak of district educators working without a contract ended Monday night after the

Bemidji Area Schools

Board of Education unanimously approved a tentative agreement with the Bemidji Education Association for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years.

The association's previous contract expired on June 30, 2023. Citing cost-of-living adjustments and other considerations, educators flooded the district board room each month to advocate for greater pay for the jobs they do.

After several rounds of negotiations and mediation since May 2023, BEA members would eventually ratify a tentative agreement during an April 11 vote, after which the matter would be presented to the board.

"We would like to thank our BEA membership and our community for standing behind us," BEA President Alison Tisdell said. "Our community and BEA members really pulled together and showed support for each other during this long process."

District Human Resources Director Jordan Hickman provided a summary of the agreement on Monday prior to the board's vote.

"It is important to note that the district has always maintained that fair compensation within our means is an important bargaining principle," Hickman said. "To ensure our ability to attract and retain quality staff, the district is committed to providing the best possible compensation for our employees within the means available."

The agreement details no change to the first "half" — or 91 days — of the 2023-2024 salary schedule from 2022-2023. The salary schedule for the second half — effective Jan. 22 through the end of the school year — shows a $25 increase per step plus 4.5% for 2023-2024. The 2024-2025 salary schedule will show a 4% increase compared to the second half of 2023-2024.

The salary schedule for the first half of 2023-2024 will show a minimum full-time salary of $43,268 to $83,695 on the high end. For the second half of 2023-2024, the minimum will increase to $45,241 and the high-end will come in at $87,487. The 2024-2025 salary schedule will show a range from $47,051 to $90,986.

The district's insurance premium contribution will remain at $12,200 per year for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.

With a total projected two-year cost of roughly $4 million, the projected average two-year cost per full-time teacher clocks in at around $8,000.

After detailing other parts of the agreement, Hickman left off, "the school district negotiators would like to thank the BEA negotiators for the time and energy they dedicated to the negotiations process."

Having a previous discussion in a work session, the board once again declared Central Elementary as surplus property during the regular meeting after

Red Lake Nation

withdrew its offer to purchase the building.

Closed as a cost-saving measure for the district following the 2020-2021 school year, the board initially declared the building as surplus property at

an Aug. 21, 2023 meeting.

On Nov. 20, the board unanimously approved the sale

of Central to Red Lake Nation for $350,000. Then-board chair Ann Long Voelkner detailed plans for the facility surrounding wellness and addressing needs in the community related to poverty.

"Unfortunately, we were not able to finalize the transaction with the potential buyer and they have withdrawn their offer," District Business Director Ashley Eastridge said on Monday. "We would like to declare the property as surplus and again make it available for purchase."

The district determined use restrictions for Central that would prohibit a buyer from using the building for any Pre-K through 12th-grade educational purposes — excluding non-educational child care — and for the sale, manufacturing, distribution or storage of cannabis products or low-potency edible hemp products.

On the heels of a discussion concerning the district's deficit reduction strategy, the board reached an impasse on hiring a principal for J.W. Smith Elementary.

Bruce Goodwin, a former elementary principal at Grand Rapids Public Schools, accepted the offer and was recommended to the board for hire.

Board members Anna Manecke, Jenny Frenzel and Justin Hoover expressed concerns surrounding salary, changes in enrollment at the elementary level that could necessitate restructuring, and the potential to hire from within the district.

The board ultimately tabled the matter to a special meeting, which will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, in the district board room.

The full regular meeting can be viewed on the

Bemidji Area Schools YouTube channel.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 20, in the district board room.