Strike Update: Washougal Schools Announce No School on Wednesday

Washougal, WA — There will be no school on Wednesday September 5, 2018, said the Washougal School District in a public statement.

The statement reads as follows:

The school district continues to bargain with our teacher union to end their strike. Both sides bargained from 8 AM to past 1 AM, but no agreement was reached. The district provided the association with a proposal at 6 PM, but the association did not respond with a proposal. The mediators have asked both sides to come back tomorrow.

After the sides come to agreement, the association will need time to present it to their membership and vote to ratify it. We will let parents know at least 24 hours ahead of time which day will be the first day of school.

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Through the 21 bargaining sessions thus far, the association and the district have worked through many language issues. Both parties brought a list of items to the table and both have withdrawn some proposed changes. The district has agreed to an association proposal that improves caseload remedies for Special Education teachers. The district added monies to a fund that recognizes longevity in the district, and added dollars to incentives for teachers to notify the district early if they plan to retire. This early notice allows the district to recruit teachers during the height of the hiring season. The two sides have agreed to language that allows therapists and psychologists to use prior licensed clinical experience to enhance their salary.

In response to association proposals, teacher leave benefits have been improved. An additional day of bereavement leave was added, and the cash-out value of each personal leave day was increased. The district also agreed that teachers will now be able to receive the dollar value of any unused personal leave days when they retire from the district. Additional improvements based on association proposals include pay for attending First Aid training and Safety Committee meetings. Teachers will receive increased compensation for packing, moving and unpacking should they need to move classrooms.

Washougal children at a recent rally.

Remaining items that are still in discussions are salary, supplemental stipends for department chairs and club advisors, class size/overload changes, implementation of the new Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave program, and combination classrooms.

We remain committed to working with the association to reach an agreement so that we can all get back to serving the children in our community. Please visit our website for information on bargaining issues and to monitor the situation.

Both teams will return to the bargaining table on Tuesday September 4 to continue working with mediators to work on resolving remaining issues.