Longview Teachers Earn 9% Increase and Return to Work | Local

"There is a lot of work to be done from now on in terms of healing," Zorn said, adding later: "I know that trust has been lost, there is a unity that has been lost."

In addition, he said, budget cuts will be needed to sustain the extra wage.

The strike delayed the start of classes by eight days. Classes should resume Tuesday.

It is expected that the board will adopt the schedule changes to make up for the eight days of classes lost during the strike at a special meeting at 18:30. Thursday.

Zorn said the district was working with teachers so that places could be added to classes. The goal is to keep the last day of school and graduation as close to their original dates as possible, Zorn said.

With the increase, teacher salaries in Longview would range from $ 46,974 to $ 88,537, depending on experience and education. This makes Longview teachers the best paid in Cowlitz County. The average teacher would make just under $ 71,300.

The faculty had demanded a salary increase of 11%, while the district indicated at the beginning of the process that it could not exceed 6.9% due to concerns about the sustainability of the budget.

The new contract suspends tuition reimbursement opportunities for teachers and delays the evolution of class sizes from 2018 to 2019-2020.

That's where the "district got money" to spur the increases, said Ray Clift, president of the teachers' union.

Following Monday's board meeting, Zorn said budget cuts will have to be made over the next two years to support new work contracts. He said that the cuts will be made as far as possible from the students.

Zorn and the council will also advocate ways to increase funding for schools.

"We will work hard with our lawmakers to see if there are any income opportunities to help us," Zorn said.

The key part of the settlement for the district included the increases in a two-year contract, said Zorn, in part because it creates a second year certainty for the budget.

Previously held contracts were scheduled to expire in August 2019, but the new contracts are for a two-year term ending August 2020.

The 2019-2020 school year marks the second year of the contract. Teachers will receive an increase of about 3% this year, depending on inflation. Secretaries will earn about 3.25% more in 2019-2020, also depending on inflation.

"With a two-year agreement, that means we will not be negotiating next year, so we can settle for this agreement," said Zorn, noting that time can be used to help restore relations between the district. and his staff.

"The strike is over and the hard work begins now: repairing and restoring relationships with staff, students, parents and community members," said Brenda Winters, Kessler Elementary School Library Specialist.

Zorn said his strategy to help the district heal is to keep an open door for those hoping to share their questions, concerns or criticisms, while becoming a greater presence in the schools. Its goal is to restore trust with staff members and the community.

"For me, the best way is to spend a lot of time listening," Zorn said.

Longview School staff and community members shared their concerns at the council meeting on Monday.

"You can not expect to retain the best educators when you treat them like the district, no matter how much you pay for them," said Chris Coffee, an English teacher at Mark Morris High School.

"I really appreciate the fact that you finally have a contract with the teachers, but I do not think it has been well managed on the board's side," said Dianna Adsero, whose grandchildren go to school. school in Longview.

The interim agreements were concluded around 3 am Sunday, less than two days after the judge's adoption of an injunction declaring the strike illegal. Teachers and secretaries decisively approved their respective agreements at Sunday evening general trade union meetings.

"It's the end of the chapter, but it's not the end of the book," said Eric Askeland, music professor at Mint Valley, referring to the upcoming healing process following the union's ratification vote on Sunday.

The classified staff represented by Local 925 of the International Union of Service Employees will vote on Tuesday and Wednesday to accept their agreement. The SEIU ratification vote was scheduled later than the other two unions because of the requirements of the organization's statutes.

The details of this agreement will not be released until the council has accepted this agreement, said district spokesperson Rick Parrish.

"The contract is not complete until both parties have ratified it, so we want to respect the process in its entirety, which means waiting for both parties to ratify," said Parrish.

The board of directors will vote on whether or not to ratify its classified staff at Thursday's special meeting.