District continues negotiations with teachers’ union
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ST. IGNATIUS — School attorney Elizabeth Kaleva submitted a report to the school board concerning 2012-13 negotiations between the St. Ignatius Education Association and the School District. Kaleva said previous negotiations and mediation between the two parties were not fruitful. The association, which is affiliated with the Montana Education Association and Montana Federation of Teachers, has another proposal they want to submit within the next few weeks.
“The district is at the point where we offered what we offered,” Kaleva said. “We are getting down to the wire.”
If a solution is not met because negotiations are suspended, an “impasse” will occur.
“It’s rare,” Kaleva said of an impasse. “We are taking time to show we negotiated in good faith.”
The other presentation at the board meeting was from physical education teacher Christy Krantz, who revealed the district has received two $15,000 fellowships for her and teacher John Ligas to train and develop a Native plant garden at the school. They also plan to apply for a $3,000 grant to provide summer training for teachers to create a K-12 curriculum.
Superintendent Bob Lewandowski also gave board members a “green book,” which will aid them throughout the year as an easy reference to documents and policy. It will also help board members monitor the district’s strategic plan, goals and student achievement.
“It’s a working format; it’s a guide,” Lewandowski said. “This is important to use as we organize for next year.”
“It’s a good document to have as we always have to go back and look at previous board meetings,” said Chairperson Maxine Whitson. “This will help us incorporate the strategic plan into what we do.”
Lewandowski said the district was one of 28 schools to receive a planning grant totaling $22,080. This money can also be used towards a project grant potentially worth $300,000 to $500,000. Money will also be used to redesign and remodel locker rooms and pay for an assessment of school buildings.
