While teachers around the county are working toward new deals, plenty of classified staff unions are also bargaining this summer.
Unions and school districts across Washington are negotiating new salary schedules for teachers after the Legislature addressed the 2012 McCleary decision. Last year, the Legislature approved $7.3 billion in allocations to schools over four years.
Teacher unions around the county are on strike at the moment while negotiating new contracts or salary schedules. The Washington Education Association is pushing its membership to ask for 15 percent raises for certified teachers, and 37 percent raises for the classified support staff represented by some teachers unions.
Battle Ground Public Schools settled with its Public School Employees of Battle Ground union, which represents custodial and maintenance staff, paraeducators, special education assistants and secretaries, among others. The district approved a 6 percent salary increase in 2018-2019; 3 percent increase in 2019-2020 a and 3 percent increase in 2020-2021. Salaries for those staff members ranged last year from $13.21 an hour to $35.86 an hour, depending on classification and years of experience.
Classified staff in La Center School District settled back in June on a contract that sees an across the board wage increase of 4.5 percent for the 2018-2019 school year, inclusive of a 2 percent increase previously bargained for.
Vancouver Public Schools is slated to begin negotiating with its classified employees next month. District spokeswoman Pat Nuzzo said staff are waiting to begin negotiating with the Vancouver Association of Educational Support Professionals until after teachers have settled.
“They’re waiting until this is done,” Nuzzo said.
Hockinson Educational Support Professionals have been bargaining since June, and are still negotiating. The two sides are scheduled to meet on Sept. 11, according to Susan Lemos, president of the union. The district’s latest offer to the union is a 7.25 percent increase to the salary schedule, according to information from the district. Lemos said that 3.1 percent of that increase was previously negotiated in the union’s current contract, which runs through the upcoming school year. The contract was reopened due to the McCleary decision, and the two sides are only bargaining over salary this year.
In Washougal, the classified staff and district have met three times, with another session planned for Wednesday. “Your negotiations team is diligently working toward an across the board percentage increase for our members as well as lifting classifications up to the median rate of pay when compared to area districts and similar size districts across the state,” an update on the union’s website reads.
Ridgefield classified staff aren’t bargaining this summer, according to Alan Adams, president of the Ridgefield Education Association. He said the classified union and district agreed to a memorandum of understanding, “which provided a 15 percent raise for all classified staff.” The union signed a memorandum of understanding as they were already in a current contract, which runs through Aug. 31, 2020, according to Paula McCoy, executive director of business services with the district.
Evergreen Public Schools is not negotiating with anyone apart from its teachers union.
“All other employees not represented by EEA are currently under contract, and have affirmed their bargaining groups will honor existing contracts,” said Gail Spolar, a spokeswoman for the district.
Read more strike coverage at www.columbian.com/news/schools.
