Port Angeles schools mediation aims to avoid strike

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School District and paraeducators entered into mediation Tuesday in hopes of reaching an agreement and averting potential for a strike Thursday.

The district announced a special meeting for today — after bargaining sessions with the Port Angeles Paraeducator Association — to consider a number of resolutions if negotiations fail, said Superintendent Martin Brewer.

The meeting is set for 2 p.m. today at the Central Services Building. Board members will consider suspending all policies, rules and regulations, limiting access to public school grounds, taking legal steps to terminate a strike, suspending leave policies during a strike and authorizing the superintendent to close schools.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Paraeducators authorized a strike to begin Thursday if they cannot reach an agreement with the school district over pay by the end of business today.

On Tuesday, Brewer sent an email to all staff saying he firmly believes that both sides are committed to avoiding a strike and said school will run as planned.

“The position is that we’re running school,” Brewer said in an interview Tuesday. “If we receive additional information then we will notify parents as soon as we are notified of that information.

“At this point school is scheduled to run on Nov. 15.”

Port Angeles Education Association President Eric Pickens has said he would urge teachers to support a strike and to honor the paraeducators’ picket line. Pickens could not be reached by phone Tuesday.

At the last negotiations session Oct. 30, the district had offered the paraeducators a 3.5 percent pay increase, and the association countered with a demand of 22 percent. Paraeducators voted Nov. 6 to authorize a strike to begin this coming Thursday if the school district does not make a “fair and equitable offer,” their lead negotiator Barbara Gapper has said.

The district is using a mediator from the Public Employment Relations Commission to help with negotiations. In his email, Brewer said the goal was to come to a decision Tuesday but that bargaining would resume today if necessary “in the effort to avoid work stoppage.”

Negotiations began Tuesday at 1 p.m. with the mediator spending an hour with district officials. At 2 p.m. the mediator was scheduled to meet with paraeducators.

Then a six-hour mediation session between the district and paraeducators was scheduled, with more time set aside today if an agreement wasn’t reached.

Brewer told staff there is a contingency plan to cover all critical paraeducator positions throughout the district and reminded staff that state law does not give public employees the right to strike.

Brewer would not say specifically what the contingency plan is, but said it relies on district personnel and community members.

Brewer said a resolution the School Board will consider today if it would give the district the authority to ask a judge for an injunction.

He said employees requesting pay for sick leave during a strike would need to sign an affidavit certifying they are actually ill and that only employees who are not withholding services will be allowed on school property.

“At the conclusion of this potential work stoppage, we need to come together and move forward as ONE committed team to meet the needs of our students,” he said in the email.

Paraeducators are among the lowest paid employees in the Port Angeles School District. Base pay for a paraeducator is $15.68 per hour.

The school district said in a news release and on social media Friday that with a 3.5 percent raise paraeducators would be almost the best paid in the region.

The school district Thursday approved a 4.1 percent raise for other classified staff.

Paraeducators work on a 183-day annual contract and are paid for 11 holidays.

________

Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.

More in News

Parker Brocious, 6, from Cedar Hills, Utah, studies tubs containing plankton, krill and other small ocean creatures used by the Port Townsend Marine Science Center for education purposes while on a road trip with his family on Tuesday at Fort Worden State Park. Parker’s father Tyler is at left. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Science education

Parker Brocious, 6, from Cedar Hills, Utah, studies tubs containing plankton, krill… Continue reading

Port Angeles approves lodging tax fund requests

Vacancy on committee brings legal questions

OMC hires family medicine physician

Dr. Calvin Kuo will join hospital in August

Colton Dufour, left, and his mom Cherie Tachell. (Cherie Tachell)
Boy seriously injured following hit-and-run

Condition is stable, but more testing underway for Sequim teenager

Applications open for Forks council seat

The Forks City Council is accepting applications to fill a… Continue reading

Bridge inspections set on Hood Canal

Bridge preservation engineers from the state Department of Transportation will… Continue reading

Port Townsend Farmers Market opens Saturday

Farm-fresh eggs, mexican pastries and smoked fish available

Adella Banning, 6, of Port Angeles pretends to take to the road on a all-terrain vehicle maintained by Clallam County Search and Rescue during Saturday’s Kiwanis Kids Fest at Vern Burton Community Center and a section of adjoining Fourth Street. The event featured numerous public safety displays as well as other youth activities hosted by area community service agencies. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Kids Fest

Adella Banning, 6, of Port Angeles pretends to take to the road… Continue reading

Clallam letter details Trump administration impacts

Clallam cites economy, tourism, healthcare

Rhonda Kromm is the new Port Angeles School District assistant superintendent. She replaces Michelle Olsen, the newly hired superintendent.
First bonds issued for develop plans for PAHS, Franklin Elementary

Construction at new Stevens Middle School to start in May

UPS Store closing Port Angeles location

UPS is closing its UPS Customer Center at 3216… Continue reading

Single-lane traffic near Kalaloch Campground

Erosion near Kalaloch Campground has caused a temporary lane closure… Continue reading