Whitefish school trustees on Friday approved a three-year contract with teachers that includes a 1.5 percent increase on the base salary for the current school year.

The contract will go through June 30, 2016.

Teachers will receive a 1 percent increase to the base for the 2014-15 school year. For the 2015-16 school year, teachers will get a minimum of 1 percent or maximum of 3 percent depending on whether the district’s budget authority increases.

There are approximately 110 teachers who will be affected by the three-year contract.

With the new agreement, the average salary for the 2013-14 year is $59,000 with the highest salary at $70,377 and the lowest at $35,562, not including benefits.

District health insurance contributions will be up to $694 a month.

For the district’s retirement bonus program, employees who were hired in 2004 and before will have the option to continue receiving a monthly $500 district contribution for five years or they can receive a $15,000 tax-free payout through the Teacher Retirement System instead.

Whitefish Education Association president Gayle Graf said the retirement bonus program is something the association worked to protect.

Two-thirds of association members voted to ratify the contract. The school board ratified the contract during a special meeting Friday.

Graf said teachers have been surveyed throughout the process to guide the negotiating team toward a resolution.

The district and Whitefish Education Association had entered into mediation to reach the contract that had taken 13 months of bargaining.

“One thing I do want to say now that everyone is here is how much I appreciate everyone staying through the entire eight-hour marathon session late into the night,” said trustee David Fern, who served on the district’s negotiation committee.

“Typical of negotiations process — no one goes away with everything they wanted [but] I think it was pretty significant in getting some really important cost containment that adds some more predictability to our situation for the next two years.”

Trustee Shawn Tucker, who also served on the district’s negotiating committee, said he felt a division between all parties.

“So going through this as my first negotiations, to me, it’s troubling that it seems that there’s a difference between teachers, administrators, school board trustees and the superintendent that they’re not all on one team and this whole negotiation process makes it feel like there is a division when there shouldn’t be — when there should be a group moving forward to educate the children of Whitefish,” Tucker said.

Tucker said unfortunately there aren’t unlimited funds in the district and part of the job of an elected trustee is making sure a balanced budget is in place.

“Going forward, negotiations have to change in a way where we shouldn’t have marathon sessions at the end of the year to get a contract for this year,” Tucker said. “To me, that’s a little disturbing.”

On a separate agenda item Friday, the board voted to accept an offer of $300,000 on the Whitefish Independent High School property at 625 Park Ave.

That is roughly $150,000 less than the asking price.

Trustees decided to list the property in December 2012.

The deal is expected to be finalized by mid-April.

If the sale goes through, the money will be put toward the high school construction project.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].