VANCOUVER, Wash. — School will not start on time in Evergreen Public Schools, which covers 27,000 students on the east side of Vancouver, according to the president of the teachers union.
The Battle Ground, Vancouver, and Longview school districts also voted to strike last week.
Bill Beville, president of the Evergreen Education Association, said on Monday morning that no agreement has been reached, so there will be no school Tuesday, when it was scheduled to begin.
The district confirmed the news shortly after, saying that negotiations are continuing Monday but in order to allow parents to make alternate plans, the decision was made to announce the cancelation of classes early.
"Given the uncertainty if an agreement is forthcoming today, and the need to let students and families know to make alternate plans, Evergreen Public Schools are not opening school tomorrow," the district said in a statement. "As of tomorrow morning, all school buildings will be closed to the public as well as any staff not in paid status or scheduled to work."
The district said it will provide daily updates to families with children in the district about the status of school for the next day.
Middle school and high school athletics will continue during the strike as coaches have separate contracts, the district said.
On Sunday night, union leaders told teachers to be prepared to pack up their classrooms at the end of the day on Monday.
"Without an agreement, teachers have been told to take their personal items, take their pets, take their plants, that they will be locked out of schools on Tuesday, so they will not be able to return to get any of their things," Beville said.
Last Thursday, teachers in Evergreen Public Schools voted to strike if an agreement wasn't reached by Tuesday. Teachers say they are asking for fair wages.
“I don't like to speak for my members, but I can tell you right now they're furious,” Beville said last week. “This is money already in the district's pockets, all they need to do is give the teachers their money.”
Evergreen Public Schools, on the other hand, said it is allocating the money given to it by the state for educator salaries.
“We're passing through every state dollar that we're getting and then adding some at the local level as well,” said Gail Spolar, the Evergreen Public Schools director of communications.
“We’re losing people because they can't afford to teach,” Beville said. “The rising costs of health care, cost of housing, and just general inflation overall, it's like our teachers have been losing money for years and this is our chance to actually get our educators a competitive professional pay that they deserve.”
Spolar said Evergreen teachers are already getting paid more than what state funds allocated for.
“In Evergreen, the money that’s allocated by the state legislature and the courts, it’s about a $69,000 average for the teacher salaries,” Spolar said. “Under the current contract, they were already getting $71,000 on average. In the offer that we’ve provided, it’s up about $77,000. So, we’re actually using local levy money to supplement that as well and so we’re passing through every state dollar that we’re getting and then adding some at the local level as well.”
Maureen McKinney is a mom to a sophomore who attends Union High School in Evergreen Public Schools. She said she supports teachers and hopes an agreement can be made. She said many parents and students are a little nervous, waiting for word on whether class will start on time next week.
“As a parent, you sit back and you’re just waiting. What’s the news going to be, you know?" McKinney said. "Are we gonna strike? Are we going to go to school? You’re making your plans. There are a lot of parents out here that require daycare and all that kind of thing.”
Lincoln Victor, a senior at Union High School, hopes negotiations don’t get drawn out too much. While some students are fine putting off the start of school, Victor said he wants to start sooner rather than later.
“Some people look at it as an extra long summer. But they’re probably going to make it up just like snow days. It’s eating into our senior year. Might as well just get it started,” he said.
Other teacher strikes in Washington state
The Battle Ground, Vancouver, and Longview school districts also voted to strike last week.
Teachers in Camas will take a vote to strike on Monday at 4 p.m., the last in the area to do so. A mediator from the Public Employment Relations Commission has been appointed to help Camas School District and Camas Education Association work toward an agreement.
Updates on bargaining sessions between Camas teachers and the school district can be found at the district website.
Thursday, August 23 marked the first day of the teacher strike in Longview. Teachers wore red and held signs along the streets, demanding fair wages.
Jennifer Powers is a paraeducator and parent in the Longview School District. She stood with a picket sign, and said she does not make enough money to live on.
“We all need to make a living wage,” Powers said. “I'm a single mom with a son. I don't even make $2,000 a month. I do not bring home enough money to support me and my child.”
Ray Clift, the president of the Longview Education Association, said teachers, secretaries, and paraeducators are sticking together and will not come to an agreement until a fair contract is reached for everyone.
“They're educators, they support our children, they should be compensated. There's plenty of room in the budget for a really fair settlement for them too,” Clift said.
Dr. Dan Zorn, superintendent for Longview Schools, said teachers got an 8 percent pay increase during the last contract negotiation, which he said made them the highest paid teachers in Cowlitz County.
"The latest offer to the union would keep our teachers as the highest paid in the county," Zorn said.
More from the Longview School District about the strike can be found here.