Contract Negotiations

Fair Contracts through Transparent Processes

Our schools would not be the same without our dedicated staff. We pride ourselves on transparency and partnership through the negotiations process.

Watch the negotiations process unfold for Big Lake bargaining units below.

Big Lake Bargaining Units

Big Lake Education Minnesota (BLEM)

All certified staff: Teachers, Social Workers, and Counselors

2025-2027 Negotiations

Big Lake Schools is committed to transparency and keeping our community informed as we work through the teacher contract negotiation process.

Since May, the District and Big Lake Education Association have met nine (9) times to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. These meetings have included discussions on compensation, working conditions, and long-term sustainability for both our staff and the District. While progress has been made, the process has taken longer than we had hoped, and the teachers' union has requested to move the discussions to mediation, which is a standard step in public sector bargaining when agreements are not yet reached.

What the District Has Done So Far

The District identified challenges with recruitment, retention, and long-term competitiveness within the existing salary structure and proactively developed a solution prior to the start of formal negotiations. At the District’s first meeting with the teachers’ union on May 15, 2025, we presented a comprehensive and competitive compensation proposal aimed at addressing these concerns. This proposal reflects the School Board’s willingness to make a meaningful financial investment, larger than previous settlement packages, in order to improve market competitiveness, support career earnings, and better position Big Lake Schools to attract and retain high-quality educators. At the same time, the proposal was developed with careful consideration of the District’s long-term financial stability and responsible use of taxpayer resources.

Specifically, the District has proposed a modified salary matrix designed to:

Compare competitively with neighboring districts, including all Mississippi 8 Conference districts and Elk River.
Condense the salary matrix to better align with market realities and prioritize:
- Career earnings over time
- Earnings in the first five years of employment
- Improved compensation in the middle MA steps and lanes to address current recruitment challenges
Support retention by embedding longevity recognition for educators who reach Big Lake Schools years of service milestones.
Ensure no individual teacher experiences a reduction in pay, though increases may vary by step and lane based on the restructured matrix.

Why the District Proposed a New Salary Matrix

Under the 2024–25 contract, the teacher salary schedule extended from Step 2 through Step 20 across multiple education lanes. Analysis showed that the specific areas of the matrix made it more difficult to:

Compete with neighboring districts for new teachers
Address recruitment challenges in the middle of the schedule
Support long-term retention and career earnings

To address these concerns, the District proposed a redesigned salary matrix for the 2025–26 school year.

What Changed in the Proposed 2025-2026 Matrix

Renumbering the Steps to reintroduce Step 1
Reduces the total number of steps to from 19 to 18
Increases the salary value within each step
Targets stronger increases in early-career, mid-career, and hard-to-fill lanes
Because the salary matrix has been updated for 2025–26 and the steps renumbered, teachers will remain on the same step number they held in the 2024–25 school year. This change is due to the renumbering and reincorporation of Step 1 and the reduction of the total number of steps to 18, compared to the prior structure.
While teachers remain on the same step number, the salary values within each step have increased, meaning the compensation associated with the step has moved to the teacher. No teacher loses pay as a result of this structural change.
The salary schedule has been redesigned so that higher compensation is built into each step, rather than requiring teachers to move to a new step number.

Here is the proposed matrix, which includes varying increases with a total of 9.13% in the first year:

This matrix reflects increased salary values at each step and lane and improved alignment with Mississippi 8 districts and Elk River.

2025-2026 District Proposed Salary Matrix
STEP	BA	BA+15	BA+30	BA+45	MA	MA+15	MA+30	MA+45	PhD/EdD
1	$50,000	$51,000	$52,000	$52,900	$53,800	$55,800	$57,800	$59,800	$62,300
2	$50,650	$51,800	$53,000	$53,900	$55,300	$57,400	$59,550	$61,700	$64,200
3	$51,300	$52,600	$54,000	$54,900	$56,800	$59,000	$61,300	$63,600	$66,100
4	$52,300	$53,400	$55,000	$55,900	$58,300	$60,600	$63,050	$65,500	$68,000
5	$52,800	$55,600	$56,000	$56,900	$59,800	$62,200	$64,800	$67,400	$69,900
6	$53,300	$57,800	$58,500	$61,000	$61,300	$63,800	$66,550	$69,300	$71,800
7	$53,800	$58,300	$61,100	$61,600	$62,000	$65,400	$68,300	$71,200	$73,700
8	$54,300	$58,800	$63,900	$64,300	$64,800	$67,000	$70,050	$73,100	$75,600
9	$54,800	$59,300	$64,400	$65,000	$68,300	$69,000	$71,800	$75,000	$77,500
10	$55,300	$59,800	$64,900	$65,500	$72,300	$73,000	$74,000	$77,400	$79,900
11	$55,800	$60,300	$65,400	$66,000	$73,800	$75,400	$76,200	$79,800	$82,300
12	$56,300	$60,800	$65,900	$66,500	$75,300	$79,900	$80,400	$82,200	$84,700
13	$56,950	$61,300	$66,400	$66,900	$76,800	$81,300	$81,800	$84,600	$87,100
14	$57,600	$61,800	$66,900	$67,500	$78,500	$82,700	$82,800	$87,000	$89,500
15	$58,250	$62,300	$67,400	$68,100	$80,200	$84,100	$85,000	$89,400	$91,900
16	$58,900	$62,800	$67,900	$68,700	$81,900	$85,500	$87,200	$91,800	$94,300
17	$59,550	$63,300	$68,400	$69,300	$83,600	$86,900	$89,400	$94,400	$96,900
18	$60,200	$63,800	$68,900	$69,900	$85,400	$88,500	$91,800	$97,000	$99,500

*Teachers in the sunsetted NBPTS lane will have salary written in contract language.

Here is the last negotiated Matrix for the 2024-2025 School Year:

STEP	BA	BA+15	BA+30	BA+45	MA	MA+15	MA+30	MA+45	PhD/EdD
2	$44,872	$46,287	$47,829	$49,375	$51,845	$54,129	$54,783	$57,369	$59,869
3	$45,460	$47,081	$48,680	$50,281	$53,155	$55,471	$56,273	$58,937	$61,437
4	$46,258	$47,889	$49,547	$51,201	$54,488	$56,844	$57,805	$60,549	$63,049
5	$46,967	$48,711	$50,431	$52,140	$55,855	$58,253	$59,378	$62,206	$64,706
6	$47,688	$49,547	$51,330	$53,097	$57,257	$59,679	$60,995	$63,909	$66,409
7	$48,419	$50,399	$52,244	$54,071	$58,695	$61,177	$62,657	$65,658	$68,158
8	$49,162	$51,264	$53,175	$55,064	$60,169	$62,696	$64,364	$67,456	$69,956
9	$49,917	$52,144	$54,124	$56,075	$61,680	$64,251	$66,118	$69,304	$71,804
10	$50,682	$53,040	$55,090	$57,103	$63,230	$65,845	$67,921	$71,203	$73,703
11	$51,461	$53,952	$56,072	$58,152	$64,819	$67,480	$69,774	$73,155	$75,655
12	$52,250	$54,881	$57,074	$59,220	$66,449	$69,156	$71,678	$75,161	$77,661
13	$53,053	$55,825	$58,092	$60,308	$68,120	$70,875	$73,633	$77,223	$79,723
14	$53,869	$56,784	$59,129	$61,417	$69,835	$72,635	$75,644	$79,341	$81,841
15	$54,696	$57,761	$60,186	$62,546	$71,592	$74,440	$77,709	$81,519	$84,019
16	$55,537	$58,755	$61,261	$63,696	$73,393	$76,290	$79,831	$83,755	$86,255
17	$56,391	$59,767	$62,356	$64,867	$75,241	$78,188	$82,012	$86,054	$88,554
18	$57,258	$60,796	$63,470	$66,059	$77,137	$80,132	$84,253	$88,418	$90,918
19	$58,138	$61,843	$64,604	$67,275	$79,080	$82,127	$86,556	$90,847	$93,347
20	$60,153	$64,029	$66,879	$69,635	$82,193	$85,292	$90,044	$94,464	$96,964

Salary Scenarios Under the Proposed 2025-206 Matrix: How the New Matrix Works in Practice

Below are examples showing how teachers at various points in their careers would experience salary increases under the proposed updated matrix. In each case, the teacher remains on the same step and lane, due to the renumbering of the steps, but the salary associated with that step increases under the redesigned schedule.

Teacher A – Early Career

BA / Step 2
2024–25 Salary (Step 2): $44,872
2025–26 Salary (Step 2): $50,650
Increase: $5,778 (12.87%)

Teacher B – Early to Mid Career

BA30 / Step 7
2024–25 Salary (Step 7): $52,244
2025–26 Salary (Step 7): $61,100
Increase: $8,856 (16.9%)

Teacher C – Mid Career (Recruitment Focus Area)

MA+30 / Step 10
2024–25 Salary (Step 10): $67,921
2025–26 Salary (Step 10): $74,000
Increase: $6,079 (8.95%)

Teacher D – Experienced Teacher

MA+45 / Step 14
2024–25 Salary (Step 14): $79,341
2025–26 Salary (Step 14): $87,000
Increase: $7,659 (9.65%)

Teacher E – Long-Term / Longevity Recognition

MA+45 / Step 18
2024–25 Salary (Step 18): $94,464
2025–26 Salary (Step 18): $97,000
Increase: $2,536 (2.685%)

May also be eligible for longevity pay (see below) for those with 20+ years of service in Big Lake Schools

How to Read These Examples

The tables above show how the proposed 2025-26 salary matrix affects teachers at different points in their careers. Each example compares a teacher’s actual salary in 2024-25 with the proposed salary for the same step and lane in 2025-26.

Because the salary schedule was redesigned and renumbered to reintroduce Step 1 and reduce the total number of steps, teachers do not move to a higher step number in 2025-26. Instead, the salary value assigned to each step increases. In other words, the step stays the same, but the compensation associated with that step increases, often significantly.

These examples demonstrate that teachers are not losing steps or falling behind under the proposed structure. The redesigned matrix allows the District to target higher increases in early-career, mid-career, and hard to fill lanes, while maintaining placement stability and recognizing experience and credentials.

What Else Does the Proposal Include?

In addition to this updated Matrix, the proposal includes the following:

Longevity for Big Lake Schools years of service:
- $650 for Teachers with 20-24 years of service to Big Lake Schools
- $900 for Teachers with 25-29 years of service to Big Lake Schools
- $1,150 for Teachers with 30+ years of service to Big Lake School
Preschool Teachers will receive an increase on their matrix of $1.00/hour in year 1 and $1.50/hour in year 2.
Activities Matrix will have an increase of 1.5% year; 2.5% year 2
The second year of the contract will include a 6% increase on district health contribution
A District contribution of $500 each year to the Health Care Savings Plan for those on final step (starting in year 2)
Decreasing the maximum sick leave hours to 900 vs. 1000 hours; which allows for sick leave to be paid out into the Health Care Savings plan earlier
Added a 403b district contribution of $500 for probationary Teachers (newer Teachers to the district)
Increased the additional activity pay from $30 to $40 (ex: Chaperones)
8.5- Tiered Non-Contract Pay to one rate set at $34
Targeted Services pay rate not to exceed $50
8.2 - Teachers volunteering more than 10 students due to lack of substitutes at $32/$36
NEW: 8.2 Language for SPED - A SPED teacher taking a minimum of one (1) and no more than five (5) students due to the lack of substitutes will be compensated at the rate of $18.00 per high school/middle school class and $16.00 per thirty minute class at the elementary school level
10.2 – Teacher with 20+ years added an additional 4 hours of personal leave each year.

Key Takeaways

The total percent increase of the two year contract is 11.886%
The District identified a structural compensation issue and proposed a solution before negotiations began
The School Board is making a larger than previous investment in teacher compensation to address identified problems
The redesigned matrix improves recruitment, retention, and career earnings
Teachers remain on the same step and lane, but receive higher pay
No teacher loses pay under the proposed structure

Updated: March 2, 2026

There was a mediation session on January 29th between the District and BLEM in which we came to a Tentative Agreement.
On February 24th BLEM members had a vote to which they voted down the agreement.
The District and BLEM have two negotiations sessions scheduled for March 2nd and March 5th.
If needed, there is also a second mediation session scheduled for Monday, April 20th.

SEIU Local 284

Paraeducators, Secretarial Staff, and Custodians

2026-2028 Negotiations

Negotiations with SEIU Local 284 are expected to begin the summer of 2026.

Logo Image

In This Section