Photo by Jeff Clemens - Teachers picketed outside of South Bend Schools on Monday after classes ended for the day.
Local teachers and school districts have kept a close eye on other districts in the state that have ended up in courtrooms over teacher strikes. In a surprising chain of events a Tumwater judge ruled a Tumwater School District teacher strike to be illegal while another judge in Longview ordered Longview teachers back to work.
Raymond, South Bend, and Willapa Valley teachers and schools have not come to terms on contracts as of yet. At times the mentioning of a strike has arisen, but most teachers have remained silent and others saying a strike is unlikely. Willapa Valley teachers have been the most open about what they see as unfairness in the district when it comes to teachers salaries. Raymond and South Bend teachers have chosen to only talk off the record or refused to comment at this time.
When asked how the rulings in Tumwater and Longview could affect current negotiations in the area Raymond Superintendent Steve Holland explained that teachers and districts have gone to court over strikes before. Typically when it happens teachers disobey the first injunction to return to work and settle before a second injunction is ordered. However, he didn't seem to think the situation locally will go as far. Both of the other districts have remained similarly positive and believe they and teachers will reach agreeable terms.
Teachers also had their eyes on the negotiations in Aberdeen. Aberdeen teachers and the district settled their contract early in the a.m. hours on Sept. 5 after starting negotiations at 5:00 p.m. the day prior. There the teachers settled on a 18% pay raise. Not much is known about the terms our local teachers are asking for or what their counterparts are offering. Regardless of the state of local talks local teachers returned to work. They continue to work with the looming question of what will ultimately happen or when the chaos will finally come to a close.
Details recently emerged regarding the negotiations in South Bend. According to a source who spoke with the Herald under a condition of anonymity and has knowledge of the negotiations, the most recent request by teachers is a 41% pay increase. During the 2017-2018 school year the lowest paid teacher with only a Bachelor's degree and no additional credits or experience had a salary of $39,344 which would become just over $55,000. The highest paid teacher who holds a Masters degree with 90 additional credits and over 16 years of experience made $73,095 which would become just over $103,000.
South Bend School District Superintendent Jon Tienhaara broke his silence on Tuesday, Sept 11 after tough negotiations between the school district and teachers union on Monday, Sept. 10. Teachers took to the street picketing with signs claiming Tienhaara is paid more per year than the Governor of Washington State Jay Inslee. "What I can say is once this is all over this will all be water-under-the-bridge to me," Tienhaara said. "I honestly can say I expected this and it's unfortunate the state has placed us in this position. I greatly appreciate our teachers and all the hard work they do every year and I hope we can get this whole thing settled so we can go back to doing what's best for our students."
The newest offer from the teachers' union (down from their 41% proposal) would start out at $43,350 and have a maximum salary of $89,085. The counter offer from the district is a minimum salary of $43,500 and a maximum of $85,106.64. The district has taken the entire $2,608,640 ($65,216 per teacher) allotted for teacher raises and placed it into the salary. However, teachers are demanding a higher maximum salary across the board which disrupts all salaries between the minimum and maximum and are unwilling to compromise.
The difference between both proposals is how teacher experience and additional education is calculated. For example, the district caps a salary with only a Bachelor's degree at 9 years with a $50,370 salary. While the teachers union maxs it out at 17 years with a $67,434 salary. Under the McCleary Decision districts are now capped on their levies at $1.50 per $1000. South Bend will be down from the previous $3.69. There are major concerns with the proposal. One concern is that the teachers' pay being sustainable in the future. Another is the ability of the district to fund an overage.
The most unfortunate news coming out of the negotiations is word that teachers are planning to hold a strike vote on Thursday, Sept. 13 if the district doesn't accept their current offer. If a strike vote is passed teachers are expected to hit the picket line on Monday, Sept. 17. Tienhaara has requested the district and union go into mediation to try and avoid a strike and is willing to work through the weekend with them. Monday was only the second scheduled negotiation between the district and the union and is the first since school started this year.
Another detail being consistently overlooked is the Janus Decision which ruled that teachers no longer have to be a part of a union and it's a conscious decision to join. Prior teachers had to either join the union and pay monthly dues or pay a fee each month to not join. Unions have now seen the current negotiations between teachers and their respective districts as a chance to give teachers a reason to either join (or stay with them). Many districts have mentioned concern whether the union is looking out for the interest of teachers or is just hoping to bring home a trophy to hold high and say, 'Look at what we did'.
This is a developing story and we will be covering updates as they're happening.