District teachers, staff, agree to new union contracts

With just more than a month before the start of classes, Libby School District has come to terms with the last of its five unions and the Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the contract at its Aug. 13 meeting.

On Tuesday, District 4 Superintendent K.W. Maki said the district has reached an agreement with the Libby Association of Education Officer Personnel (LAEOP) of which there are six members.

The group, which did not have a contract last year, consists of office secretaries. 

The LAEOP, along with the four other unions, will receive a 1 percent pay increase and steps incentives.

Earlier this month, the district approved contracts with the Libby Para-educators Association (LPA), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Lunch Bunch Association (LBA) and the Libby Educators Association (LEA). All unions received steps incentives while only the LEA received lanes incentives.

“It’s good,” Maki said. “It’s good to have this finished early.”

The superintendent said it was particularly satisfying to be able to present the unions with a pay increase, albeit just 1 percent.

“They all went without raises last year,” Maki said. “I think it’s important they know we care about them. We know we are asking them to do more all the time. It shows good faith,” he said.

The 1 percent raise will cost the district $165,000.

“When you break it down to each person, it’s not very much,” Maki said. 

In these tight economic times, Maki was asked whether he was concerned about giving raises.

“No. If I were, we wouldn’t have offered them,” Maki said. “Again, I think it’s important staff knows we are supportive. … If you’re standing on a hill over the soldiers in the trenches, we need to know we are giving them the ammunition to get the job done. I think they’re appreciative of even the 1 percent.”

Here is a look at the unions and who they represent:

• LAEOP: Office secretaries; six members.

• LPA: Para-educators who help teachers. Members of this group have a two-year associates degree or pass a test matching those requirements; 19 members.

• AFSCME: This group represents custodial and maintenance staffers; 11 members.

• LBA: The Libby Lunch Bunch Association supplements student lunches by preparing fresh fruit and vegetables for lunches. This group also maintains records for each student and payment options; six people.

• LEA: This is the district’s largest union and represents the teachers and librarians, of whom there are 86 members. Like the other unions, the LEA gets steps incentives. However, LEA members also receive lanes incentives.

Maki said the district is trimming its staff budget as some positions have not been renewed but also through attrition.

The recent announcement of Dr. Jael Prezeau’s resignation as District Curriculum Director has made available about $80,000, Maki said. Also, the district no longer has a special-education director or a maintenance supervisor.

“I’m the special-ed director and the maintenance supervisor,” Maki said. “There was a time I would just forward the curriculum concerns to Jael. Well, I no longer can do that. We’re all doing more,” Maki said.

Prezeau resigned to take a curriculum position with the state in Helena.