Williston school board, teachers begin negotiations

WILLISTON, N.D. (KUMV) - The Williston Basin School District and its teachers met Wednesday night to begin contract negotiations.

The board and the Williston Education Association spent about two and a half hours establishing the ground rules and introducing their proposals.

Some of the ground rules discussed included how long each meeting should be and how long each side is allowed to caucus. School Board President Chris Jundt said they all want to work on an agreement that will attract and retain educators.

“I’m optimistic that we will get there and set up the district for success well into the future,” said Jundt.

Both sides traded several non-financial proposals that will be looked at between now and the next meeting. Lead negotiator for the Association Matt Liebel said upcoming talks should be very productive.

“We had a lot of proposals that had the same kind of things. I think we are not too far apart on a lot of those things,” said Liebel.

Liebel and Jundt both said they want to have a contract agreed upon by May 5. Liebel said this should allow most teachers to have their contracts signed by the end of the school year.

These proposals will be discussed more in-depth during their next meeting on April 13.

Salary talks may take a little bit longer as the district waits to see a funding bill passed through the state legislature.

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