PORTLAND, Ore. — With classes canceled Thursday, teachers will be ineligible for health insurance in December, Portland Public Schools (PPS) said Wednesday.
The teachers strike in Portland Public Schools is now into its third week. Thursday will mark 10 days without instruction.
According to PPS, teachers are not eligible for insurance in December because starting Thursday, they'll have worked less than half the days they’re contracted to work in November.
Instead, teachers will have to apply for COBRA insurance. That's led some teachers to become increasingly stressed.
"I was expecting to not have to deal with that right now," said Camila Arze, a teacher at McDaniel High School.
Arze is a mother of three young children, including a 4-year-old who recently had brain surgery.
"We are dependent on those benefits that it gives us,” Arze said. "You know, it's a big stress."
Julia Kirkpatrick, an English teacher at Grant High School, said she's "feeling scared."
Like Arze, Kirkpatrick just had a baby. She also takes insulin for Type 1 diabetes.
"So, for me, the district's decision to try and use our access to health care as a bargaining tactic is actually life or death," Kirkpatrick said.
While teachers will have to use COBRA insurance in December, the cost will be covered entirely by the Oregon Education Association, the statewide teachers union. Portland Public Schools estimates the coverage will cost the OEA around $5.1 million for healthcare in December.
Despite the coverage, teachers worry some educators may lose insurance as they’re forced to switch back and forth from their usual coverage to COBRA.
PPS did not address insurance concerns during a Wednesday press conference, but Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero reported that the two sides have reached a tentative agreement on 10 small issues. He added that the district came back with their own settlement package Wednesday night, which they presented to the union, who is reading it now. PPS School Board member Julia Brim-Edwards shared some of the updated proposal on X, which would include, among other things, more planning time and more teachers to lower classes.
Other Portland teachers strike news
- On Wednesday, the city of Portland fast-tracked almost $20 million to Portland Public Schools to upgrade infrastructure. "These resources will bolster the package PPS/PAT agree to, improving school conditions to benefit both teachers and students," Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a news release.
- At the state level, three Republican representatives announced that they will pursue legislation that would bar teachers unions from walking out on school days.
