Staffers decry district contract offer as 'pay cut'; board approves custodians' tentative agreement

Tara Snow, speaking on behalf of the BSP unit, told the Bemidji Public School District board that the districtoffer for support staff amounts to a pay cut. "The district's current offer is a 0% salary increase paired with a one-time $460 stipend," Snow said, adding that the stipend "breaks down to less than $3 a day" and that staff face an insurance-premium increase "of over 15%" and three unpaid days because of a shortened school year.

"You aren't giving us a stipend. You are handing us a pay cut," Snow said, urging the board to "invest in the people who keep these schools running." She warned the board that low pay and rising costs are harming recruitment and retention, and called for a living contract for employees who care for Bemidji students.

Superintendent Jeremy Olsen told the board the district has used a "pattern settlement" approach in negotiations and described terms for the custodians and maintenance bargaining unit, which the board approved by voice vote. Olsen said the tentative agreement provides a 0% general increase in year one plus a one-time stipend ("$600 for less-than-30-hour positions; $1,200 for those greater than 30 hours") and a 1.5% increase in the second year. He said the package improves longevity provisions and falls within the districtpattern settlement costing frameworks.

The board took the action without extended discussion. Jeremy Olsen said the agreement had already been ratified by the bargaining group and that ratification by the board was the final step.

What happened next: The board approved the custodians and maintenance tentative agreement by voice vote. No roll-call tally for individual board members was recorded in the meeting transcript.

Why it matters: Support staff and custodial employees perform essential daily functions in schools; compensation and benefits affect staffing stability and the district's ability to recruit and retain experienced employees. The public comment from the BSP unit framed the contract discussion as part of larger personnel and budget trade-offs the district is balancing.

Details and clarifications: The transcript records the stipend figures and the 1.5% second-year increase as described by the superintendent. Insurance-premium increases and the three deducted days of pay were stated by the BSP unit commenter as part of her account of the districtoffer.