PORTLAND, Ore. — Roughly 44,000 children in Portland will remain out of school on Tuesday, the district announced Monday morning. Tuesday will be the seventh day of missed classes due to the teachers strike.
"Today, the district's bargaining team is working to refine articles where we can possibly reach tentative agreements with our teachers' union," the district said in a tweet. "However, there is no indication we will make enough progress to reopen schools [Tuesday]."
The district said meals will resume Tuesday.
"We recognize this is a hardship for a lot of our community members, especially our kids," said School Board Chair Gary Hollands over the weekend.
The Portland Association of Teachers, which represents roughly 3,700 teachers, counselors and other employees wants higher wages, more planning time and reduced class sizes. The district claims it can’t afford the union’s proposal.
Both sides met throughout the weekend. The district proposed a package that it claims addresses compensation, preparation time and class sizes. The district said the latest offer would cost an additional $147 million, requiring budget cuts over the next three years totaling almost $103 million. It’s not clear where those cuts would be made.
“We’re already taking a close look at administrative costs, discretionary spending, contracted services,” said PPS Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero.
The union argued PPS made virtually no movement on key issues in its latest proposal.
“The reality is the district has the funds. They refuse to talk to us about class sizes and the impacts on our students and that is why they continue to keep kids out of school,” said Angela Bonilla, president of the Portland Association of Teachers.
Bonilla argued the district is unwilling to bargain.
“What we get from the district over and over again are proposals that are repackaged,” Bonilla said.
Portland Public School teachers went on strike Nov. 1. District officials explained it is too early to determine whether the school year will be extended for make-up days.
“We really can’t commit to extending the school year or not until we know how long the teachers have been out,” said Dr. Renard Adams, chief of research, assessment and accountability for PPS.