With the first day of school right around the corner for the Washougal School District, the teachers union and district came to a tentative collective bargaining agreement Friday — a day after an Aug. 31 deadline.
The two sides met with a state mediator Thursday in a session that went until 1 a.m., then again from Friday morning to the afternoon.
Frank Zahn, president of the Washougal Association of Educators, declined to give specifics on the contract, but said teacher salaries in the district have not kept pace with neighboring schools.
“Our district is seeing more people leaving than coming in,” Zahn said. “They go to places like Vancouver, and Battle Ground and Evergreen where they can earn more.”
A summary of the bargaining session posted by the district on Aug. 27, however, said the district will meet the union’s request for 166 hours of TRI pay — money paid to teachers for work they do preparing for class outside of the regular school day.
Initially, the union asked for 181, while the district asked for 131.
More recent information was not available, and Superintendent Mike Stromme did not return a request for additional details about the contract.
“We believe the agreement fairly and equitably compensates our teachers,” Stromme said in a district statement. “We value their commitment to our students and families.”
The union scheduled its ratification vote for Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the Washougal High School auditorium.
If the agreement is not ratified, the district will honor the previous contract and class will resume as normal on Sept. 7.
