PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Blaine County Education Association and Blaine County School District Board of Trustees have reached a new tentative agreement for teachers to vote on.

Teachers failed to ratify the first tentative agreement reached on May 17.

The second tentative agreement includes a 1 percent increase on the base for certified staff in exchange for an insurance deductible of $750 for an individual, up from the current $300 for an individual.

In addition, the calendar will be amended so that all staff can have the Monday and Tuesday off before Thanksgiving to be with their families. Those two work days will be added to the school calendar elsewhere in the year, and the professional development planned for those two days will be rescheduled.

The Blaine County Education Association has not set a date for a ratification vote. Teachers are off contract for the summer, and that makes it difficult for the BCEA to schedule a meeting. But if the teachers approve the tentative agreement, the district will need to switch insurance plans before the new plan starts on Sept. 1.