PORTLAND, Ore. — Students in the Portland Public Schools district will be out of the classroom for the rest of the week, with no deal reached between administrators and the union Wednesday night.
PPS officials notified families that school will be closed Thursday due to the strike and that Friday is a holiday.
Mediation continues between both sides. The spokesperson for the district told KGW they had productive conversations Monday and Tuesday, then spent Wednesday working on counter-proposals. They shared those proposals with the Portland Association of Teachers' bargaining team in the afternoon.
Around 5 p.m., the district said their financial team met with the Department of Administrative Services's CFO to answer questions about their current budget, as well as their proposals to PAT. A spokesperson for PPS said the district and the union will meet again in-person tomorrow, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, writing, "We remain eager that we can reopen our schools to students on Monday."
On Wednesday afternoon, teachers and supporters marched through Northeast Portland to the Convention Center. There, leadership held a rally.
"I'm feeling energized," said Jacque Dixon, PAT's vice president. "One day longer, one day stronger. Our crowds keep showing up. We have a lot of community support. I'm also feeling hopeful now that some of the board members are actually at the table... We might come to a settlement sooner rather than later."
KGW asked her what sticking points remain and what's being done to find a deal.
"Our main focus right now is planning time, class-size and cost-of-living increases," she said, "As far as specifics, I'm not a member of the bargaining team, so I can't really comment on what we are willing to let go of."
As the strike stretches on, some PPS parents said they find the uncertainty of the situation frustrating.
"I think it's so unfair to 45,000 families across the city, sitting in the balance and waiting for a text message at 7 p.m. each night. That's not fair to anyone to have to live in the unknown," said parent Mike Barron, "And the fact that they are putting all of these families through this unknown each day… It's heartbreaking to be honest."
Barron has two children in the district. He said he's grateful for his kids' teachers and believes what they want from the district is fair, but he wonders if the students can return — and soon — while negotiations continue.
"I think what I would ask of the teachers is: Is there a way that they could get back in the classroom while their union leadership continues to negotiate on their behalf?" Barron asked.
"I hear them, and I want them to know that we hear their concerns, and that's just not how labor works," Dixon replied. "We did a lot of work for the past year bargaining, and it is unfortunate that the PPS management and their bargaining team didn't really take things seriously until it was too late."