The Minot Public School Board approved a one year contract with the Minot Education Association (MEA) at a special virtual meeting on Monday after weeks of grueling negotiations.

The agreement kept a base salary of $44,550 but with step and lane advancements to provide raises for current staff ranging from 1.2% to 4.02%.

Another item included in the agreement was retention pay for those who completed their 2024-2025 contracts with Minot Public Schools. The amounts are $750 for those with Bachelor’s degrees and $1,200 for those with Master’s degrees. The language of the agreement stipulated the retention bonuses would sunset at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year.

The overall package in the new agreement totaled $49.2 million in wages and nearly $2.57 million in benefits for the MEA, an increase of $2.07 million or 2.97% from the previous agreement.

District Business Manager Laura Dokken said she expected the total to decrease slightly due to turnover, but it won’t be as significant as past years due to the reduced number of retirements.

Additional items agreed to by the parties included changes to deadlines for payouts for sick leave, child rearing and honorarium; an increase of total personal day accumulation from six to seven; the dissolution of the safety committee; and an increase from 10 years to 15 years for health insurance coverage for retired teachers.