In the first of three voting sessions set for this Labor Day, teachers in the Hockinson School District voted unanimously to accept a tentative agreement and return to work Tuesday.
“We get to start tomorrow, yay!” one teacher said leaving the meeting.
“Hallejujah,” said another.
The vote early Monday afternoon at Hockinson High School was unanimous, with 98 of 117 members present for vote, according to union leadership.
“We are happy to have reached an agreement, and we are very excited to get the kids back at school,” Superintendent Sandra Yager said in a statement. “They are the reason we do what we do.”
The two-year deal sees a 14.5 percent increase in total compensation for teachers this upcoming school year, with a salary range of $49,578 to $93,445. The deal includes a 2 percent increase in the 2019-2020 school year, or a 16.5 percent increase from the 2017-2018 school year.
“We’re confident we were able to get all money sent to the district for us in the McCleary decision,” Corey McEnry, co-president of the union said.
The union and district were also working on a full contract instead of a new salary scheduled, and the two sides also bargained for lower K-5 class sizes, decreased case load for teachers in the special education program and guaranteed paraeducator support for all special education teachers.
“They are a huge support for our special education teachers,” Megan Miles, co-president of the teachers union said.
Hockinson announced its settlement at about midnight Sunday. It followed days of marathon sessions between the district and the Hockinson Education Association. McEnry estimated that the two sides spent about 80 hours at the bargaining table in the last week.
Miles said negotiations were slow moving until a few days ago, and around 9 p.m. Sunday, the union felt like they were heading toward an agreement. They thought they might be the first to announce a tentative agreement, but were beat out by Camas and Vancouver.
McEnry praised the union and district for their bargaining, and how it remained “professional and civil.” Miles said the two sides left the bargaining table at 2 a.m. Monday with an agreement, and agreed to post a picture on Facebook with district and union leaders to show both sides were in good spirits.
Both McEnry and Miles also praised the Hockinson community for their support during the strike, with people coming out to join the picket line and making sure the bargaining team was well fed. McEnry joked that he gained weight during negotiations with all the food brought to the team, while most other teachers lost weight from all the picketing.
“Strong schools respect their teachers, and create strong communities,” Miles said.
This story will be updated.
