Minot Public School district, teachers to resume contract talks next week

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – UPDATE (5/21/25 9:15 P.M.): Leadership with the Minot Public School district and the union representing the teachers will meet again next week after not being able to come to an agreement Wednesday on a new contract.

Negotiators with the Minot Education Association and the MPS negotiating committee met at a packed auditorium to continue contract talks.

They went over issues for roughly 90 minutes but were unable to come to an agreement.

School board member Scott Louser focused on the district’s budget deficit.

He also mentioned the close to $125 million Minot Public Schools has in deferred maintenance.

“We got to a point towards the end of the meeting, where we’re going to focus, now, strictly on the numbers in the contract and maybe some language, which is really where we needed to get at this stage,” said Scott Louser.

The talks began with members of the district’s negotiators addressing recent concerns on social media this past week about potential pay cuts, saying they never mentioned cuts.

MEA negotiator Lisa Wolf said although the words ‘pay cut’ were not mentioned previously, some may have assumed it when hearing the phrase ‘not enough money.’

Wolf said she felt the meeting went well, as they now have a proposal to look at.

“It’s not just negotiating for just the three of us that are sitting at the table, this is negotiating for our entire 635 population of teachers in our district,” said Lisa Wolf.

Both sides will resume negotiations Tuesday, May 27th at 6 p.m.

The meeting will once again be open to the public at the Central Middle School auditorium.

ORIGINAL STORY: Leadership with the Minot Public School district and the union representing its teachers were unable to reach an agreement Wednesday following the latest round of negotiations over a new contract.

The MPS board’s negotiations committee and Minot Education Association negotiated for roughly an hour at a meeting open to the public at the Central Middle School auditorium Wednesday evening.

After discussion and caucusing, the two sides could not come to an agreement.

They will meet again next Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Your News Leader will have more on Wednesday’s negotiations on KMOT First News at Ten.