PORTLAND, Oregon — A teacher strike in Portland Public Schools could now be less than three weeks away as a gulf lies between the district's latest offer and that of the union representing teachers, to the tune of $228 million.
The union is demanding better wages, smaller class sizes and more prep time each week for teachers.
On Wednesday, Portland Association of Teachers and PPS representatives met for the second time following a 30-day "cooling-off" period. Both sides seem to think that the other needs to make a better offer in order to push negotiations forward.
"The district needs to come to the table with real solutions, not just noes," PAT President Angela Bonilla said.
Negotiations on a new contract for teachers has been ongoing for months. Educators are looking for wage hikes of about 20% over the next three years. They also want two more hours of prep time each week.
"The ball is in their court,” Bonilla said. “They have to decide that they are going to drastically change how they're running this district."
KGW also spoke to parents who want smaller class sizes. PPS said the average elementary school class size is 23 students, but some class sizes are much higher.
Along with wage hikes and smaller class sizes, teachers want more planning time too.
"They haven't moved on planning time at all," Bonilla said of the school district in negotiations.
PAT wants two additional hours of planning time for teachers weekly, which would give teachers a bit more than seven hours of planning time each week.
Portland Public Schools said everything the union wants would cost much more than they have the budget for. School district officials said there is an almost $230 million gap between their offer and the teachers union's demands.
To find the money, the union has advocated slashing administrative costs and dipping into reserves.
"There is not enough money in administration or enough money in our fund balance to close that gap," said Dr. Renard Adams, chief of research for PPS.
Adams said administrative costs total $60 million. A district spokesperson said about half of the $105 million of reserves in the district's general fund has already been allocated. PPS also strives to keep the other $50 million in reserves on hand, in case of an emergency.
If the state had been unable to pass a budget this past summer when Republican state senators walked out of the legislature, PPS said it would have had to dip into its reserves.
Adams said it costs more than $8 million monthly to keep the entire district operational.
"It's really important that we have some 'oh no' money in our coffers," Adams said.
While the district argues the funding isn’t there, the two sides aren't moving any closer to a deal.
"Not much has changed," Bonilla said.