SEA, school board reach agreement on new contract By Bill Vander WeeleSidney Herald The Sidney Education Association and the Sidney School District have come to terms on a one-year contract. The agreement contains minimal salary raises for teachers including a 1 percent increase for the school district’s most experienced teachers as well as adding to the pay scale for the less experienced teachers. “A definite portion of the negotiations that was challenging was changing the deductions for insurance,” Mark Halvorson, SEA president, said. Other issues included terms for traveling teachers and teaching recruitment. Halvorson said one of the reasons that the contract is only for one year is the financial uncertainty facing the school district regarding oil funding. The plan is for negotiations to take place in the same year as Montana Legislative sessions in the future. |