PORTLAND, Ore. — Days after Portland Public Schools and its teachers union reached a deal ending a near month-long strike, many more educators are bargaining with their school districts across the state of Oregon.
Both teachers unions and school districts kept a close eye on the Portland Public Schools negotiations. Some of the districts now bargaining with teachers unions are Beaverton, Hillsboro and Salem-Keizer.
Leaders for the Beaverton teachers union said one of the biggest things they are looking for is smaller class sizes. That was one of the Portland teachers union biggest concerns, too — one that went largely unaddressed in the new contract.
"It is just not possible for that student to receive the best possible education," said Lindsay Ray, president of the Beaverton Education Association, talking about the impact of large class sizes.
Ray said Beaverton teachers have kept a close eye on the Portland teacher contract negotiations. The agreement reached with PPS gave Portland teachers a roughly 14% raise over three years, some class size considerations and more teacher prep time.
"(We're) definitely looking at what our neighbors are getting,” Ray said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have become increasingly frustrated statewide. Experts tell KGW that teacher exasperation could bubble over soon.
"The biggest issue I hear of is that people feel like they can't do the job that they got into this profession for," said Gordon Lafer, co-director of the University of Oregon Labor Education Research Center.
Statewide, families and teachers want smaller class sizes, Lafer said.
"My guess is that there will be a lot of continuing pressure on this,” he said, “both from parents and from teachers."
Throughout bargaining, PPS officials said the union's offers were too costly. On Tuesday evening, PPS school board member Andrew Scott called the deal they ultimately reached unaffordable. He then said that the state should give schools more funding so that they can address these issues sustainably.
Lafer agrees that more state funding is wanted from families and teachers.
"I would expect to see continued pressure about this in Salem," Lafer said.
Meanwhile, teachers at Salem-Keizer Public Schools are negotiating for a new contract. Throughout this year, Superintendent Andrea Castañeda has said that Salem-Keizer is facing a major budget shortage.
"The truth is that we are in a deep budget hole," Castañeda said in a video message to families on Wednesday.
Salem-Keizer has been actively following Portland Public Schools teacher negotiations, Castañeda said. On Wednesday, she announced that she plans to cut $30 million from the district’s budget, including $30,000 from her own salary.
"There is no clear solution in sight,” Castañeda said.