On Friday, May 1, Cass Lake-Bena School District and the Cass Lake-Bena Education Support Staff (CLBESP) bargaining group met in mediation to attempt to reach a contract agreement. After 10 hours of discussions, the groups have a tentative agreement.
Items tentatively agreed to during mediation are as follows:
Salary increase year 1 - $1.00/hour for all current employees
Salary increase year 2 - 2.25% on the base wage and for
all current employees
Adding language to provide additional staff development time for those staff who are impacted by the reduced number of student contact days in the CLEA contract (paraeducators, bus drivers, bus monitors, kitchen staff)
Health insurance coverage - retain current language that provides for a fully paid single plan for all employees at the lowest cost plan AND
Increase the cash in lieu payment for employees who do not take the district health insurance plan to $290/month (increase varies, but is a minimum of $60/month additional) effective the 2026-27 contract year.
Increase longevity benefit by $100/month as follows: 5-9 years $650; 10-14 years $900; 15-19 years $1,150 and 20+ years $1,400. Added language that changes the date of payment to the first payroll in May AND added language that restricts payment of longevity benefit if an individual is placed on an improvement plan. Improvement plan language is effective the 2026-27 contract year.
Agreed to allow staff to trade additional accumulated sick leave for personal days on a 2-1 ratio, by one additional day, and allow for an increase to the accumulation of personal days from 10 to 15.
Vacation buy-back -- increased the number of hours of vacation a 12 month employee may “sell back” to the district for cash from 80 hours to 100 hours.
The following items had been agreed to previously:
A requirement that all food service personnel hired after September 1, 2025 achieve a passing score on the SERV Safe test and be certified as a SERV Safe Food Handler. The district pays for the cost of training and recertification.
Add language to the existing wellness incentive program that rewards employees who limit their use of sick leave from September 1 through June 1 (school year). The new language states that employees who take unpaid leave during that time are not eligible for the wellness incentive.
Language to ensure that unit members who are licensed as short call teacher substitutes, and who serve in that capacity, retain all rights and benefits of the bargaining unit. The measure also sets a minimum hourly rate for said work at $30/hour or their regular rate of pay, whichever is more.
Added language regarding E-Learning, to clarify that staff should be assigned work that they are able to do from an alternate location, that staff who are directed by administration to report to the jobsite be compensated at time and a half for those hours. The agreed language also states that employees who choose on their own to come to their worksite will not be paid additional compensation.
Added language to clarify substituting for other unit members.
Agreed to provide language that would allow union leadership to participate in training, meetings, etc. called by the union, without having to use their own personal or vacation leave. This is not applicable to routine negotiations sessions.
Agreed to increase the cap on the district’s contribution to a 403B retirement plan (a pre-tax deduction in addition to the regular PERA retirement plan) from $30,000 to $40,000.
Agreed to adopt statutory language related to Earned Safe and Sick Time and to set the contributions to the new state Paid Family Medical Leave at the statutory 50% employee/50%employer contribution.
Next steps are CLBESP membership will vote on the proposed contract. If CLBESP membership accepts the contract terms, the Cass Lake-Bena School board must also have a majority vote to ratify the contract.