PORTLAND, Ore. — In its latest proposal, the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) removed class-size caps, conceding one of its top priorities.
The move has the potential to draw PAT and Portland Public Schools (PPS) closer as the two sides work towards a deal that would end the strike. Friday marks Day 11 of missed instruction for students due to the teachers strike that began Nov. 1.
“I’m really hopeful that we’re actually making some movement,” Anna York, a Franklin High School teacher said.
She and other Portland Public Schools teachers told KGW they commonly have large class sizes.
“It is really challenging," York said. "You have to figure out where people are going to be sitting and sometimes, we have students in the hall doing work just because of the noise.”
York said larger class sizes leads to more grading and lesson planning for teachers. That takes away from the educational experience for students, she said.
“I was going home every day feeling completely ineffective as a teacher,” Elizabeth Skorohodov, an Atkinson Elementary kindergarten teacher said.
Portland Public Schools said 75% of its elementary school classrooms are less than 25 students. It disputes the assertion that many classrooms have too many students.
Portland Public Schools said Thursday night that the soonest students can return to class is Monday, Nov. 27. Next week is Thanksgiving break. The district also postponed parent-teacher conferences scheduled for next week.
Smaller class sizes, which could have been achieved through class-size caps, was one of PAT's top priorities, along with higher pay, more planning time and better working conditions.
But the union struck "class size cap" from its proposal dated Nov. 15, instead proposing an increase in overage pay for teachers who have a higher number of students in their class or caseload.
The Nov. 15 proposal calls for a 5% increase in a teacher's base salary for the first student and a 10% increase for each additional student in elementary school. In middle and high schools, where teachers have more classes and thus more students, the proposal calls for similar increases for every five students added beyond a certain threshold.
The threshold for overage pay is 26 students at grades 1-3, 28 students at grades 4-5 and grade 6 in K-8 schools. In middle school, the threshold is 150 students in a teacher's caseload and 160 in high school.
In response to the proposal, a Portland Public Schools spokesperson agreed it was a clear concession from the union. However, they said the most recent proposal is "not a viable alternative," because it is still too expensive.
Friday, the two sides plan to continue bargaining over class size and planning time. Once those issues are resolved, they will negotiate over compensation.