Teachers in the Ridgefield School District are pushing back on what they say are inadequate offers during negotiations for a new contract.
The Ridgefield Education Association, the teachers union for certificated staff at RSD, have been bargaining for months on a new contract. According to union officials, the issues are about a lack of support for special education, school safety and training, though pay does play somewhat into this year’s negotiations.
Negotiations started in early June and REA and RSD’s bargaining teams have had 10 meetings as of press deadline. The latest bargaining session was on Monday morning. The results of that meeting were not available as of press deadline.
Ahead of those meetings, REA organized demonstrations, said Washington Education Association Riverside UniServ Director Lynn Davidson. Davidson has been assisting the REA during their bargaining and said the union hopes to have a contract before the start of school this week.
“We’re just running into a lot of resistance from the district,” Davidson said.
Regarding compensation, Davidson noted state lawmakers approved a 5.5% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for K-12 teachers. She said the district was resistant to pass down the adjustment, though they finally allowed it.
“We would like some money above that to recognize our experience and keep us competitive with other business salaries,” Davidson said.
She said the union is also pushing for smaller class sizes for special education students and more paraeducator support. Another union request not being met is more de-escalation training and disciplinary data research to seek solutions for students who break the rules.
In 2018, the REA went on strike for the first few days of the ostensible start of the school year. That strike was one of a few in North Clark County following negotiations in the wake of the state Legislature appropriated more funding due to the McCleary school funding court decision.
“We aren’t asking for that kind of money this time. We’re asking for a raise that will help our people be able to continue to live and work in Ridgefield,” Davidson said. “That was a lot about salaries. This is more about students and safety and staff workload, so that they can best do their job.”
The REA took a vote to strike at a “to be determined date” on Aug. 23.
“Nobody wants to strike,” Davidson said. “It just upsets the whole tenor of the environment.”
Ridgefield Education Association Co-president Elizabeth Stamp said the district is scarce on details outlining their reasons for their offers.
“They’re finally starting to give explanations,” Stamp said.
She said teachers have felt they are not being respected for the jobs they do through the negotiating process.
“I feel like they don’t value us as professionals and they’re really just treating us like a business,” Stamp said.
Stamp said there are teachers with 20 or more years of experience who are looking to move into another district, “not because of pay, but just because of the way we’re being treated.”
One example of the disrespect, Stamp said, is the district’s proposed contract’s requirement for certificated staff to take on more duties to cut down on the use of classified staff.
“It basically doesn’t allow us to get ready for school in the morning and doesn’t give us that time in the afternoon to shut down our classrooms,” Stamp said.
The district pushed back on the characterization that it was not putting in the work to come to a favorable agreement.
“We don’t ever want to hear that the other side feels disappointed and we’re not acting in good faith,” RSD Communications Director Joe Vajgrt said.
Vajgrt said the district has to balance its resources when coming up with an offer.
“The district’s ultimate goal is providing the best-quality education that we can for Ridgefield students,” Vajgrt said. “On the other side of that, we’re also constrained by state funding models, and we have a duty and responsibility that we’re being good financial stewards.”
Stamp, a kindergarten teacher at Union Ridge Elementary, feels the district is doing the bare minimum of bargaining. Like Davidson, she said the potential for a strike is not a route teachers want to take.
“We don’t want to be in this position and we certainly don’t want to strike,” Stamp said.
