BATTLE GROUND — It’s 8:53 a.m. Thursday, and Casey Richard, a fourth-grade teacher, would normally be making her last-minute preparations for a day of teaching.
She’d be sprucing up her classroom, and figuring out her question of the day — a conversation starter for her students to start the morning. She’d answer emails and phone calls from parents. She’d take a restroom break, since she might not get another opportunity for hours.
“That’s the big one,” she said.
Instead, Richard and thousands of other school employees across Clark County are on the picket lines. Teachers and administrators remain at odds over salary agreements, as districts around Washington negotiate how to spend the additional money they’re slated to receive after two years of McCleary legislation.
Columbian reporters and photographers last week talked to dozens of teachers, heard their stories and reported their frustrations. It’s a diverse group of teachers, counselors, occupational therapists, nurses and other school staff. Some are new to their districts. Others have been teaching for decades.