Bismarck teachers, school board finalize contract

The Bismarck School Board and Bismarck Education Association finalized their contract agreement Wednesday, putting teachers in line for raises each of the next two years.

The school board voted, accepting the agreement teachers passed with what the BEA called overwhelming support. Teachers will get a 2-percent pay raise next year and a 2.25-percent raise in 2020-2021. The next step is working on sidebar agreements for things like safety.

“I think that the hope would be we could find some resolution so that these are not issues that continue to appear in negotiations,” said Lori Furaus, BEA president.

Furaus says she’ll be meeting with Superintendent Jason Hornbacher next week to work on other sidebar agreements. She adds class sizes will be another issue the district and teachers will try to solve before next negotiations.