District 21 reaches deal with teachers’ unions

Its two-year contract is retroactive to July 1 of last year. On pay, teachers received a one-time, half a percent lump sum payment upon the signing of the contract, which will not increase their base pay.

They will get a two percent pay increase in July, the second year of the contract.

Teacher salaries range from $34,000 to $64,000, and the one-time lump payment will range from a $320 payment at the high end to $170 at the low end, Anderson said.

The two percent pay hike will be about $680 per year for beginning teachers and $1,280 per year for the top-end teachers, or between $50 to $100 per month before taxes, Anderson said.

“We were not in a cash position to give them much in the year we’re in right now, and they accepted 2 percent for next year’s salary,” said Anderson, who termed the contract negotiations “cooperative.”

Robert Clark, president of the teacher’s association, said, “We feel like we made some good gains in contract language for teachers and students.”

One is guaranteed daily prep time for teachers at the high school, which is new this year, and was not a contractual obligation until this year, Clark said.

“The new schedule that is well liked by teachers for the daily prep and daily contact with students does this so we are happy to ensure that going forward,” he said.

“Another bright spot was making the high school’s robotics instructor/coach a paid position. There are many hours that go into robotics, across the equivalent of two full sports seasons, and many students benefit from the program so giving some incentive to the teacher who runs the program is important,” Clark said.

Clark said they weren’t able to get pay for the middle school and elementary school robotics teachers and coaches, but “that will be certainly something we look at going forward.”

The new contract also includes “some small extra support” for special education teachers, Clark said, allowing them to meet with their instructional assistants in the classroom before the first day of school to discuss protocol and procedures.

Teachers can also now seek national board certification with support from the school district, he said.

“We feel as though the district worked very hard with us to do everything that they could to support our students, but as with all public education in Oregon, funding is very low so many of our goals aren’t possible until the budget support is there,” Clark said.

He said future goals for the teacher’s association include working with the community and district administration on pushing “for new facilities and better conditions for students… We are happy to see the community begin discussing our schools and how we can improve them.”

The North Wasco Education Support Professionals is the 189-member group that includes non-teaching support staff.

In its newest contract, this group got a one percent salary increase effective Feb. 1, which has the effect of being about a half a percent because it’s partway through the fiscal year, according to Anderson.

However, this increase will raise base pay, “so when we give a two percent next year it will be on top of the one percent this year,” he said.

Nora Ferguson, president of the support professionals union, said in addition to small gains in pay, the union was able to get a $200 bonus for employees who have been with the district for more than 25 years.

“The financial state of education in Oregon has been in serious jeopardy for several years now.

“We fear that next year’s negotiations will be even harder if we do not get some influx of money into education in this state and especially into our district,” Ferguson said of Oregon budgetary situation.