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We Have a Tentative Agreement on the Furlough MOU

8/16/2025

REA, OSEA, and the District have tentatively agreed to a Furlough MOU. The MOU agrees to take 10 furlough days and - although we have been candid about our skepticism of the need for 10 unpaid furlough days - we were able to gain a number of protections for members and trigger language tied to more reasonable budget amounts, in order to restore days.
Among the provisions we acquired that helped move us towards a tentative agreement:

6 furlough days are student contact days (less work for less pay).
4 furlough days are paid holidays (days can be restored at any time throughout the year).
Agreement that paid holidays will be restored first, before student contact days.
Agreement that the District cannot convert the planning days to student contact days.
Members will not lose insurance eligibility, retirement contributions, seniority or credit toward a full year, or leave accruals due to furlough days.
Insurance premiums remain covered.
No member will receive less salary between last year and this year.
Further unforeseen budget crises will lead to collaborative discussion with the Associations rather than automatically move to additional RIFs.

Four triggers to restore furlough days

Trigger One: Outside Audit Numbers.
Trigger Two: State School Fund Increase.
Trigger Three: Budgeted FTE yet to be posted or filled will be used to restore days (this is a new trigger designed to make sure unfilled positions don’t lead to padding the budget, but instead are used to benefit our members).
Trigger Four: New funding in grants or other external sources.

We realize that taking any furlough days for members is a hardship and choosing to TA an agreement is not an easy one. However, we feel that we have gained strong protections and trigger language that will enable us to get those days back if, in fact, the financial prognosis is not as dire as the District contends.
The next step in the process is for our members to ratify the agreement.
Reduced Pay
Both REA and OSEA agreed at the table to have pay reduced evenly across all 12 months of the year starting with our September 2025 paychecks. The goal is to minimize the burden of reduced pay so that it does not all hit only in the months in which furlough days occur. In the event members choose not to ratify the Furlough MOU, money can be reimbursed as appropriate.
Q&As
We will be holding two virtual Q&As for OSEA and REA members on Wednesday, August 20th. (Members, please check your emails for the links.)
We will also hold an in-person Q&A on Monday, August 26th at 4:00 pm. This will be at RHS, but we are still working on the exact location.
The Zoom meetings do have a maximum capacity of 500 people. While we do not foresee this being an issue, if you log in and cannot enter, please attend the other virtual meeting or come to the in-person version.
Voting
Voting will take place the first week of September. Jeffrey Fuller will share details for REA and Esper Farmer will share details with OSEA in a separate email. Members from both locals must ratify for the MOU to go into effect. In order to ratify the MOU, a simple majority of voting members is necessary. If members of OSEA or REA choose not to ratify the MOU, both unions will return to the negotiating table.

Furlough Update #5

8/9/2025

REA and OSEA met with the District again on Thursday, August 7, to work on the Furlough MOU.

To begin, the District provided a counter to our proposal. Below are the highlights.
Proposed Days

They conceded an additional student contact day in October to take place of the proposed paid holiday on 9/1 (for a total of 6 student contact days). This is still not ideal, as October is too early in the year to get the furlough day back.
The four remaining furlough days remained three paid holidays and one planning day.
They objected to language around seeking a waiver for student seat time and continued to seem reluctant to reach out to the State, instead forcing REA and OSEA members to bear the brunt of State/District budgeting woes.

Restoration of Unpaid Furlough Days

The District replaced language giving us sole discretion to determine the order furlough days are restored with language requiring the District to be part of the decision making process with REA and OSEA “input.”

Trigger Language

The District returned to numbers that inflate the cost of a school day, making it difficult to impossible to get those days back.
The District continued to insist we use the State School Fund Estimate that is over $700,000 more than they budgeted for. This would create a still greater hurdle of additional revenue before days could be returned.

Protecting Members from RIF

Rather than confer with the Associations if an unforeseen event forced the District to make sudden decisions involving RIF, the District sought to limit our involvement to events related to the State School Fund. This would limit our ability to protect members from RIF.

Rather than respond with a counter, we returned with clarifications and a request for information.
Concerns

We made it clear that agreeing to 10 days we previously offered was contingent on the District pursuing a waiver and opting to use student contact days first before relying on paid holidays.
Our trigger language actually granted them a reasonable buffer for unforeseen costs and charter school payments, yet they continue to look for unreasonably high trigger language thresholds.

Information Requests

We shared our concern that the District’s accounting of finances are inconsistent, with different numbers found on their website than in the board book, and even different numbers cited in bargaining sessions. Therefore, we asked for updated and more consistent information, including the following:
- Any and all costing worksheets the District used to determine calculations leading to 10 furlough days.
- Up to date Admin and confidential salaries and compensation (this year and last).
- Up to date salaries and compensation for classified and certified staff.
- The amount saved due to RIF.
- Number of people currently working in the District.
- Dollar amount for student vs. non-student day.

The District responded by essentially refusing to provide additional information, asserting that they either already had provided it or it appears elsewhere and we can find it ourselves.

Our team also pointed out that the cost roll-up (insurance, benefits etc.) the District was using to determine the cost of an employee seemed high compared to other districts in the state. This could potentially mean the original budget was made around exaggerated numbers. The District did agree to get back to us with their costing for these roll-ups.
OSEA/REA Counter
Finally, the District all but demanded we give them a counter that day. Because it was still early, we agreed to return with a counter that was essentially our previous language, with a few minor changes that fell outside the days and trigger language.
Moving Forward
We are scheduled to meet again Friday, August 15, hopefully with clearer information.
We realize the hardships around not knowing what our schedule will look like for next year, but we do not feel comfortable giving back our member’s hard-won gains for a “crisis” that the District has yet to convincingly prove, using a process that leaves most of the burden on the backs of the two Associations. We continue to remind the District that it is not just us, but our members, who will vote on furlough days. That their refusal to provide clear and consistent information makes it difficult for us to tentatively agree on an MOU that we believe members will vote “yes” to approve.

In the end, whatever we agree to at the table is up to you to ratify or reject.

Furlough Update #4

8/9/2025

On Thursday July 31, Brian and Jeffrey – along with representatives from OSEA and Bruce, our OEA consultant – met once again with the District to work on a furlough day MOU. This time, the District invited Superintendent Frank Caropelo and board members Michael Reyes and Joyce Rosenau to take part.

The morning began with the District’s counter to our previous offer with some slight changes. As expected, they returned the number of furlough days to 10 – their magic number – though they moved away from the planning days we have been firmly advocating against using and instead proposed we use the four paid holidays we won in our last contract, plus another date to be decided at a later time. While the move away from the planning days was progress, it is not exactly the change we were hoping for (though it was expected).

The District also returned trigger language thresholds to numbers almost double what is needed to bring back a furlough day, mostly out of fear that some other financial crisis might materialize which they would be unable to address. One of the concerns on our part stems from the fact their thresholds would allow them to cover all their hypothetical financial concerns several times over for each day. Simply put, if only one or two of their hypotheticals hit and we accepted their thresholds, they could have the money to return several furlough days but only need to return one or two.

The District also continues to try using threshold numbers that benefit them. They want to use the updated State School Fund total rather than the lower amount in the adopted budget. At the same time, they want to use the higher beginning fund balance in the 2025-26 budget as opposed to the lower, updated numbers. In short, they want to use whatever numbers make it more difficult to return unpaid furlough days.

Aside from these key pieces, they modified some of the language around collaborating with the District should further financial problems occur. Most of this we were able to accept with minor edits.

We have continually reminded the District that our furlough survey results indicate we do not have the votes to ratify an MOU that cuts 10 days that fall on the backs of our time, hard won contract victories, and/or that fail to have strict trigger language holding the District accountable to returning days and making members whole. OSEA, for their part, has continually reminded the District that over half their members qualify for food stamps and that many are looking for work elsewhere as a result of these proposed furlough days.

We have also regularly spoken about the District’s insistence on needing 10 days despite getting $700,000 more than budgeted for in the State School Fund and despite having their PERS liability reduced by approximately $1.3 million dollars. They point to the miscalculation of budgeting for a $10 million ending fund balance that they are currently projecting at just over $5 million. Every time costs appear to be less or more money appears to be available, they claim to have needed it elsewhere and to still need 10 days of unpaid furlough.

Of course, casting a dark shadow over all the financial discussions is the ever-changing and inconsistent messaging from the federal government about what grant money is coming, how much, and when. Money has been frozen, unfrozen, promised, told it will be canceled, and/or decreased. All such revenue is completely unreliable until it is in the District’s hands.

In response, REA and OSEA came up with a counter that we believe was a move towards the District in understanding some of their concerns, and in finding creative methods to assuage some of their worries while maintaining some of the needs of our members.
First, we conceded to ten furlough days, but only with stricter trigger language and a mandate that the District apply for a waiver from the State to reduce instructional minutes, something they have successfully done when seeking unpaid furlough days in the past. Although we maintain that ten furlough days seems like an extreme solution to a problem the District has not adequately proven, we believe that the strength of the trigger language to bring back days is far more important. If we do not need all ten days, strong trigger language will ensure we bring those days back. And if we are mistaken, the days will already be scheduled. Only time will tell.

Despite some frank discussion at the table about why the District so adamantly wants to avoid getting a waiver from the State to reduce instructional minutes for students, we continued to advocate that the school community needs to share the burden of our District’s financial woes. That education staff at all levels cannot continue to constantly accept the burden and financial costs to make schools function in the face of the state’s refusal to appropriately and equitably fund Oregon schools. The fact these burdens regularly fall on the staff in districts with the most economically disadvantaged students is unsurprising given Oregon’s broken funding mechanism.

Here is where we decided to get creative. While already having agreed to five furlough days in June, we sought two scenarios for deciding the remaining five days. First, our proposal requires the District to seek a waiver from the State. If the waiver is accepted, we offered to use March 16-18 (the three days before Spring break) and June 4 and 5 (while moving up the final grading day and work day to take place on the 4th and 5th). Only if the State refuses to grant the District a waiver, however, are we willing to use our four paid Holidays, as well as one of our planning days (April 13). Keep in mind that in both scenarios we have maximized our ability to bring back the furlough days by pushing them to later in the year (scenario 1) or using paid holidays, which can be brought back at any point (scenario 2).

As for the trigger language, our independent audit trigger uses language that scaffolds the thresholds for bringing back days. This gives the district some buffer for their budget worries by bringing back the first day after an increase of $900,000 over the budgeted $10 million ending fund balance. The second day would be brought back after an additional $700,000 and each of the rest after additional $550,000 increments. Our latest proposal lowers the ODE State School Fund trigger language from the District’s $900,000 proposal to a straight $700,000 threshold. One reason for the difference in numbers for each trigger has to do with the way the audit works in not showing some bills that are paid in September-November but coming from the previous year’s budget. A second reason is that while it costs about $550,000 per day to run RSD, charter payments have to come out of the State School Fund. As a result, any increase there needs to be more than one day’s cost for RSD.

Finally, we included language granting REA and OSEA the sole discretion to decide the order days are brought back.

The District asked to caucus for a few minutes after seeing our counter before deciding they would need more time. We are now set to meet next Thursday, August 7.

While we miss having members in the room with us, in a time when financial support from the State and Federal government cannot be depended upon, it is even more essential to advocate for what we need as educators - reasonable class sizes, equitable pay, and enough planning time to make our classes valuable for students. Solidarity - within REA and in alignment with our OSEA siblings - has never been more important.

Furlough MOU Update, #3

7/17/2025

Dear REA and Community,

Jeffrey Fuller (REA President) and Brian Jay (REA Bargaining Chair), along with OSEA leadership, met with the district on July 16 to continue our negotiation for the Furlough MOU.

The District responded to our previous proposal with a counter reversing our proposed four (4) days of furlough back to their original proposal of ten (10) furlough days. Despite having $700,000 more coming in via the State School Fund than planned for in the 2025-2026 adopted budget, and needing to spend approximately $1.5 million less on PERS, the district maintains they still need 10 furlough days to make ends meet.

The district did agree with our proposed last four (4) student days of school and upped it by one (1) more. If ratified, this would eliminate the last five (5) student contact days of the 2025-2026 school year. They did, however, leave the final two workdays of June 15 and 16 in place. If we were to agree, this would come out to June 8,9,10,11,12 – with the final workdays being June 15 and 16.

Unfortunately, the district – once again – proposed cutting the five (5) teacher planning days. Their excuse continues to be that they do not want to pursue getting a waiver from the state (which the district has done during previous furloughs) and do not want to impact student contact days. We again argued that the prep days were put into place to help alleviate teacher burnout, minimize the amount of sick days taken and the subsequent amount of subs in the building – which costs the district more and is not good for students - and allows educators to prep, plan and collaborate in order to make student contact days truly count for students. In this upcoming year more than any, we will need that prep time to make student contact hours meaningful, not just tick boxes. It continues to be our belief that seat time for the sake of seat time is not as valuable as well prepared lessons by students' teachers as opposed to subs.

As for the trigger language, the district accepted two (2) of the three (3) proposed triggers (Independent Outside Audit and State School Fund triggers) but pushed for funding thresholds well above – practically double - what is needed to bring back a furlough day. Their concern was partly due to funds needed for charter schools, but the amount was still well above what would be needed. We also proposed language about “other” funding that could be used for compensation. The district struck that out of fear that grant money would come with requirements as to how it’s spent.

Finally, the district struck language that would protect members from being laid off, non-renewed or terminated for any reason related to budget, funding or program cuts during the life of the MOU. The fact that the district is unwilling to guarantee that their proposed method to alleviate budget shortfalls will actually work, while maintaining that there is no question that 10 furlough days are needed, is problematic at best.

Our counter, was to concede to the five (5) furlough days in June (striking the planning days), strike their high trigger language thresholds, while adjusting our proposed numbers to give slightly more wiggle room for charters, restore the additional funding trigger language, and change language about non-layoffs to language requiring the district to come to the table and bargain any necessary reduction measures first. Again, protecting our members’ jobs, pay and time is of the utmost importance!

We have scheduled two (2) more bargaining dates – at the end of July and early August, when we will see how the district responds.

Finally, we felt the district was hinting at moving forward with their last, best offer when the 90 days of mandatory bargaining are completed on August 10. OSEA and REA have informed the district of our “commitment to bargain in good faith, even beyond the ninety-day statutory period.” Our goal is to have a MOU prepared for both OSEA and REA members to vote on when we return to work.

Furlough MOU Update, #2

6/20/2025

REA and OSEA met with the District again this week to discuss their proposed furlough days. As promised, the district brought an initial proposal but was otherwise light on specifics regarding some of the other concerns we have voiced. Below are highlights from the meeting:

The District’s Proposal: Their draft MOU is geared mostly around which dates would be furloughed. Proposed dates still include teacher planning days and the first four days of school in September, both of which we indicated in the previous meeting as non-starters. We maintain that furlough days should be taken as late in the school year as possible to increase the likelihood they can be added back to the calendar. Their proposal did agree to reduce pay from each paycheck throughout the year in order to ease the financial impact. The proposal also includes some trigger language, which would restore days to the calendar if the District received increased funding. However, REA and OSEA feel the methods determining that increased funding are too limited and the thresholds that would reinstate days are too high. More work will be necessary.
REA/OSEA Requests: The District is still ambiguous about what they would do if we do not agree to furlough days. At our last meeting we requested a detailed plan on cuts the District would make and to whom. We need to know what we are bargaining against. However, the District still has no concrete plan. In addition, we continue to advocate for more equitable cuts at the District Office level. They maintain that they need the current level of staffing to ensure “optimal” service. We responded that student-facing staff--with wide cuts and ballooning class sizes--will not be providing optimal levels of service, so why should the District? We maintain that the entire district should shoulder the weight equally!
REA’s Financial Analysis: Bruce Scherer, our OEA representative, shared historical revenue and expenditure data from the previous 10 years in our district. We contend that, while the data clearly shows a need for cuts, the cuts the District has already made are enough to address the problem and we are not convinced furlough days are necessary at all. As is often the case, the disagreement is between the District’s own budget proposal and historical data supported by independent audits.

In short, there is still much work to do. REA and OSEA will be crafting a counter to the District’s MOU and will be meeting with them again on July 9th.

Furlough MOU Update

6/6/2025

We met with the District and OSEA leadership to continue working on the Furlough MOU on Wednesday morning. While we were able to discuss a bit more about the current state of the budget and clarify REA and OSEA concerns, we did not get much further. We are still awaiting information on what cuts the District would be making if no furlough is successfully negotiated so that we know exactly what we are bargaining against. Additionally, we are waiting for information about the cost to District admin vs certified staff and the savings provided by cuts. Our goal is to continue pushing for equity in cuts as we try to figure out furlough. Despite the district’s FAQ shared in Frank’s email yesterday–some of which we believe is inaccurate or exaggerated–we still have a lot of questions and concerns.
The District will be bringing an initial proposal to an in person meeting the morning of Tuesday, June 17. This guarantees we will not hold a vote on a furlough MOU until we return in late August.
We are also waiting for real numbers from the state, which will not be available for several more weeks, as well as an updated estimate on the health insurance pool and if it will hold up next year or if there will be out of pocket costs for some members. We feel this information is necessary to bargaining furlough in good faith.

2024-2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement Highlights

11/25/2024

Attention: Time Sensitive Action Items

Credit will now be given for certified educators with previous non-certified work experience in the district. They will get 1 step for every 3 years of previous experience. This credit (not the pay) will be retroactive, but you must email Shaunice Silas and Jessica de la Torriente before 12/20/2024 to get this credit.
We have changed the amount of credit needed for the last two columns in the salary schedule. This may mean that you will be moving over columns. The BA+90/MA+ 24 has been changed to BA+80/MA+20 and the BA+120/MA+45 is now BA+100 / MA+40. Please check your credits and see if you qualify to move columns. If so, you must notify HR by January 15th to reflect this change.

Changes Going into Effect Retroactively

7% Salary Increase for 2024-2025

Longevity Stipend Increase

Stipends for newly created positions

Changes Going into Effect during 2025-2026

7% Salary Increase for 2025-2026

4 Paid Holidays

Extra duty stipend increases

$400,000 class size and caseload relief

Hourly pay for 2 of 3 after school duties (not including back to school night)

SPED Stipend Change beginning Dec. 1

This change goes into effect December 1st. Use the previous system for hours prior to December 1.

SPED educators will be receiving a retroactive check for the difference between the new 8% stipend and previously claimed time from this school year. Look for additional details in your email about when to expect this payment.

Other Changes beginning this Year

Elementary Prep time increases to 6 hours per week (Administrators should have this in place by Dec. 20).

Before using the class disruption language outlined in Article 18, we are required to refer first to all currently existing plans students may have. These plans include:

Individualized Education Program (“IEP”)

Behavior Support Plan (“BSP”)

Behavior Intervention Plan (“BIP”)

Section 504 Plan

Safety Plan or Crisis Intervention Plan

Health Management Plan

Union dues for REA will go up from $19.57/month to $21.83/month based on the increase in base salary. (Union dues are determined based on a percentage of the base.) OEA dues will remain the same.

Highlights by Article

Article 3 - Miscellaneous

Any email requiring members to take action will clearly say “action required” in the subject line.

The District will respond to all emails within 3 business days. If you request a “read receipt” then the District will provide that within 24 hours.

Article 4 – Association Rights

REA has the right to address members at one meeting per week for up to 10 minutes.

Article 5 – Employee Rights

New language around the complaint process allowing members access to a complaint in most situations.

Gender Identity added to anti-discrimination language.

New language giving members input to processes around new curriculum and programs.

60-day notice for implementation of new materials and/or curriculum.

90-day notice for implementation of new district program or model changes.

Article 7 – Employee Work Year

4 Paid Holidays: Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Day, Labor Day + Juneteenth if it lands on a workday. (Begins 2025-2026 School year)

Two early release/late arrival days will be member directed (in addition to the current member-directed 5th Monday in a month).

New hires get 4 additional pre-instructional planning days.

New members hired after the beginning of the year get 1 pre-instructional planning day.

Members hired after the beginning of the year but who have more than 135 days left in the school year will be Probationary-One employees.

Secondary counselors will be granted up to 4 days of planning time at the beginning or end of the year.

Article 8 – Emergency Closure

Language around making up days due to emergency closure/inclement weather adjusted to meet the minimum seat requirements set by the State.

Article 9 – Teaching Hours

Elementary educators get 6 hours of prep time (1 hour more than previously).

Members will be notified 3 months in advance before school hour changes.

Special Education Case Managers, School Psychologists, Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists/Physical Therapists get 200 minutes at minimum per week for case management.

School Psychologists get 4 hours per week for case management.

Librarians get 30 minutes per day for library management.

Members will be paid for 2 of their 3 required after school duties (beginning in the 2025-26 school year).

Article 10 – Professional Development

Language ensuring that professional development takes into account members background knowledge and current assignments.

1 hour lunch break on professional development days.

Language ensuring members can use time after finishing PD to do work on their own (not be given extra tasks).

Article 14 – Paid Leaves of Absence

Increased Bereavement days to 5 per year (formerly 3).

Allowing members to use sick leave bank for family members on plans (formerly only children).

Members can now roll-over 2 personal days (formerly 1).

Monetary amount of cost-of-sub leave will be made public.

In the event of a major health emergency requiring quarantine the district will be required to bargain with REA over providing special paid leave.

Article 17 – Substitute and Student Teachers

New language around Admin assigning substitute duties to members.

Contracted building-based subs will be used prior to assigning members.

All members used as subs will be paid their contract rate, not sub rate.

No member will be asked to sub more than twice in a week, with the exception of SPED TOSAs.

SPED TOSAs may be assigned no more than15 consecutive days, after which they may be assigned no more than two days in a week.

Members assigned to sub will not be assessed, evaluated, or be responsible for student growth goals during the time they’re subbing.

Admin will work with members to decide the relieving of tasks and responsibilities when subbing.

Article 18 – Student Discipline

Members must refer to previously existing student plans before using the class disruption language in Article 18. See the list of plans above under “other changes beginning this year”.

Additional language changes in this article, such as redefining “physical abuse and intimidation” as “behavior that causes harm to self or others and intimidation”, which do not change processes in this article.

The district will provide training for case managers, counselors, and social workers on IEPs, BSPs, BIPs, Section 504 Plans, Safety Plans, Crisis Intervention Plans, Health Management Plans, or any other plans that prescribes how to respond to an individual student’s behavior.

Article 19 – Tuition, Project, and / or Workshop Reimbursement

Reimbursement includes mandatory fees, not just registration.

Curriculum hours do not expire after each year but continue through life of contract.

Redefined the rate used for curriculum hours.

Attendance at conferences outside Oregon or Washington are limited to once per contract cycle.

6 credits per contract cycle can be used for domestic travel.

Conferences and workshops held in Portland area eligible for mileage reimbursement.

Conferences and workshops held in Oregon and/or Washington (outside the Metro area) eligible for mileage, lodging and per diem expenses.

Members can use curriculum hours for licensure or coursework necessary to retain members who are working in high need or difficult to fill positions.

When applying for reimbursement the district is required to contact members within 10 days if they need more information.

Article 21 – Dues and Payroll Deductions

REA is informed within 10 days of when a member moves job assignment locations.

Article 22 – Compensation

7% increase in salary for 2024-2025 (retroactive)

7% increase in salary for 2025-2026

Staff hired as certified who previously held a non-certified position in Reynolds will be granted credit in the amount of one increased step on the salary schedule per 3 years worked. (See action items above to apply for this before it expires.)

Members with multiple endorsements and a Master’s degree can count all their previously earned credits for placement on the salary schedule.

New language around summer work pay, including paying members at their hourly rate.

A 10:1 ratio (one (1) credit per ten (10) clock hours) will apply to all members.

The longevity stipend will now begin on the 15th year of employment and will be 2% (formerly 1%). Each 5 years after that will go up another 1%.

We have changed the amount of credit needed for the last two columns in the salary schedule. The BA+90/MA+ 24 has been changed to BA+80/MA+20 and the BA+120/MA+45 is now BA+100 / MA+40.

Payment for extended responsibilities will be paid over 11 months, beginning on the October paycheck.

Those receiving extra duty pay now get an increase every two years.

Two new extra duty positions were created: Library/Media Coordinator and PE Coordinator. Stipends for these positions are retroactive and begin this year.

A number of extra duty positions which were lower than neighboring districts were increased.

The table for extra duty stipends was cleaned up so that it will no longer give you a headache when looking at it.

Article 23 – Fringe Benefits

There will be an insurance roll-up of 4%

During extended leave, a member who works at least 10 days during a month will have insurance coverage for the subsequent month. For this purpose, the use of individual sick leave, personal leave, or use of the sick leave bank, will be the equivalent of “work”. For the months of July-September using ten (10) days during the month of June will count.

Article 25 - Reduction in Force

Legally required language around determining linguistic and/or cultural expertise during a RIF was added.

Article 26-A – Student Services: Special Education

SPED educators will be compensated at 8% for recognition of work beyond their normal workday. This begins December 2024.

Language was added around student services committee protocols.

Article 26-B – Student Services: ELD

Minor language updates

Article 26-C – Student Services: Social-Emotional and Wellness Support Services

Added services for unhoused youth to definitions

Added committee protocols

Article 27 - Class Size and Caseload Workload

Added new recommended class size and caseload numbers for the following:

Newcomer ELD & Newcomer Core (grades 6-12) 20 students per class section
- Elementary Resource Case Managers - 22
- Secondary Resource Case Managers - 25
- Behavior Resource - 15
- Specialized Programs - 10
- Speech Language Pathologists 48
Decreased recommended Kinder class size to 20

District agrees to use $400,000 (though not limited to that amount) to alleviate class size and caseload issues. Among the strategies include increased FTE, added EAs or other strategies.

Appendices A & B

These salary schedule appendices were updated to reflect the elimination of the 0 step (to increase pay for new employees)

The salary schedules were also adjusted to reflect the increase in salary and the updated experience for column movement

Appendices C & E

These appendices were updated to reflect new language in their associated articles

Bargaining Update: Oct. 29th

11/3/2024

Hello REA members,
On October 29th, your bargaining team met with the district to negotiate the final remaining articles, each having a big impact on salary, benefits, and class and caseload sizes. These articles are critical to our members and part of why we’ve seen increased attendance at our public bargaining sessions. Although Tuesday’s session was closed to the public, and therefore lacking the spirit our members bring to the table, we still had a successful session with big wins on the remaining articles.
With a renewed understanding of our district’s current finances (not including the independent audit due later this year) we were able to negotiate counters designed to move our salaries closer to the middle of Metro 14 districts, help make sure our members will have their insurance covered, and strike new language around class size and caseload that improves our current contract. The session ran close to 9 hours and involved a number of counters from both sides, but in the end the district came back with a counter which was – with few exceptions – an agreement to our language. This was a huge win and, honestly, a big surprise. Based on our discussions, the district proposed a two year contract rather than three, in acknowledgement of the likelihood that State funding will soon be changing but isn’t clear yet. If we accept a two year, it will be because it helps ensure that we don’t settle for less because the third year is such an unknown.
Below are the articles we received counters on and details on the remaining points in discussion. (Keep in mind that the notes below are not all the changes, just the ones we were still working on this week).
Article 7 – Employee Work Year

REA’s initial proposal was to include 6 paid holidays + Juneteenth (on years when it falls on a work day). We then adjusted the number to 4 paid holidays + Juneteenth, choosing the 4 that most neighboring districts pay for. Those holidays are Labor Day, Veterans Day, Martin Luther King Day and Memorial Day. The district agreed to those 4 days, with the understanding that they would take effect in the second year (2025-2026). It should be noted that the inclusion of those days would increase the overall salary in 2025-2026 by more than 2%.
REA had made continued attempts to include language around balance of the year employees maintaining that members hired after the first day but with 135 days left in the school year will have probationary year 1 status. The district agreed to our language.

Article 9 – Teaching Hours

The district proposed to take away the 7 ½ hour workday on Fridays, while REA fought to keep the language status quo. The district has agreed to keep 7 ½ hour workdays on Fridays.
REA proposed that the district pay members for their three required after school duties. Both sides had a thoughtful discussion on the topic which ended on the possibility of the district paying for two of the three duties and REA agreeing that if a duty was back to school night it would be an unpaid required duty. However, the district’s final counter did not reflect this change. This may be an area REA chooses to pursue.

Article 14 – Paid Leaves of Absence
-We fixed some inaccurate numbers and language in this article around rolling over unused personal leave, but nothing new in substance was done with this article.
Article 22 – Compensation + Salary Index
-REA’s current salary proposal, at the beginning of the day, was 7% in year one, 9% in year two and 8% in year three. Throughout the afternoon there was discussion about the budget and the impact changing the salary index would have on the district (more about that in the next bullet point). It was understood that not just COLA, but also salary index changes and added holidays would have an impact on the actual salary increase. After multiple counters, REA revised our proposal to 7%, 7%, 7% over three years with 4 paid holidays and two changes to the salary index – deleting the 0 step and reducing the credit needed for column movement (so that members advance to the final column more quickly). The district accepted our proposal of 7% in year one and 7% in year two, along with the paid holidays. However, they proposed that the holidays wouldn’t go into effect until 2025-2026. If we accept the proposal, this would mean that members would get 7% this year – with retro checks for the beginning of the year – and because of the paid holidays, next year’s actual salary increase would be a little over 9%.
-The salary index changes are complex and would have varying impact on members, resulting in an average – but inconsistent – salary increase of 3.7%. Because the impact of this varies among members and is so complex, we agreed with the district to form a committee to study the subject and try to figure out how best to implement a change with the most equity for our members.

We proposed multiple changes to longevity bonuses throughout the bargain, but on Tuesday presented an alternative, which was to start longevity at 15 years, but increase the stipend to 2% at year 15 and then increase by 1% every five years. The district agreed to our proposal. We did not agree on whether this is retroactive or begins in 2025-2026.

Article 23 – Fringe Benefits
-REA and the district were both concerned that rises in insurance rates might leave the insurance pool depleted. Our previous counter was a proposal to either raise the insurance roll-up to 4% rather than 3% or to increase the pool from $350,000 to $400,000 – either of which we felt would solve the problem. After a prolonged discussion, which also touched on how we can better use the insurance committee to look at potential fixes, it became clear that raising the roll-up to 4% would net more for our members (though the district was leaning toward increasing the pool). In the end, the district agreed to our language for a 4% roll-up, while also holding our members harmless this year if the pool does run out.

Both sides have gone back and forth on allowing our members to spend ¼ of their unused insurance allocation on supplemental products. We insisted this remain in the contract and the district finally agreed.

Article 27 – Class Size and Caseload
The district shared calculations of the burden our overage pay proposals, as well as hard caps, would have on the district’s finances as well as the very finite space in many of our schools. Although there was agreement on the problem and how dire it is, there was also agreement that the state’s funding model needs to change. As the state works on their funding model for the new biennium, this conversation will be important to stay engaged in, but for now, our concern was to begin the process of improving the language in 27 and paving the way for change. To that end, we made two critical changes.
-As we argued at the last bargaining session, our goal is to lower sizes and caseloads, not just charge overage pay. After much discussion, we agreed to create a pool of money with which the district and REA would use to collaboratively approach class and caseload sizes each this. The fund could be used to add EA’s, FTE, add roving teachers etc. The district proposed a fund of $200,000. We countered with $400,000 which the district ultimately agreed to, with the understanding that this fund would kick in during the 2025-2026 school year.
-Though it was clear that hard caps would be difficult to fund until the state increases funding, we wanted to use the “soft” caseload size recommendations from our previous contract as a guide for when we would use the $400,000 account for class/caseload sizes. Therefore, we lowered some sizes (particularly kinder) and added size/ratios for many ELD and SPED programs. Though we feel there may be a few more to add, we believe that this is a big win and an important step in agreeing on realistic numbers for our class sizes and caseloads.
As you can see, though there are still some conversations for the team to have, we are very close and have ensured many improvements to our current contract. Please check out the links to each of the articles above to see the current proposal for each remaining article.

Our next bargaining session will be on November 12th, in the RHS library at 4:30. Be on the lookout for more info on that session as we get closer.

-Your bargaining team

Bargaining Update: Oct. 15th

10/18/2024

On the evening of Tuesday the 15th, REA members once again showed up in full force, carrying signs and reminding the District that we are united and demand a fair contract! Thank you for your support and lending your voice to the growing chorus!
The District presented their counter on Article 17: Substitute and Student Teachers, offering language seeking to clarify our concerns about members being assigned to sub (such as the amount of hours one can be asked to sub per week, long-term subbing in specialized classrooms, and not holding members accountable for job expectations beyond their control when asked to sub.) After a caucus, REA brought back even clearer language protecting our members, limiting most members to two days of subbing per week and limiting long-term subbing assignments to 15 days (rather than the District’s ask of 30 days). The district agreed with our language, making this a huge win!
REA brought our own financial package of counters to Article 22: Compensation, Article 23: Fringe Benefits, and Article 27: Class Size and Caseload.
In response to the district’s offer of a COLA increase of 5%, 3%, 2% over three years, we countered with 7%, 9%, 8% over three years. We reminded the district that their offer fails to keep up with inflation and instead is a step backwards for our members. It’s important to note that in addition to the COLA increase, we are proposing a normalization of the salary schedule, which would create an average increase of 3.4% to our salaries in addition to the COLA increase. The increasing numbers in years two and three reflect the growing likelihood of increased funding coming from the state in the next biennium. We rolled back our previous proposal to start offering the longevity stipend at 10 years and instead chose to focus on increasing the stipend itself after it kicks in at the 15-year mark. We also increased many of the extra-duty stipends the district struck, though both sides agreed that more close scrutiny would be required to make progress in that area.
In our counter to Article 23, we sought to increase the proposed insurance roll-up from 3% to 4% or to increase the insurance pool amount from $350,000 to $400,000. We believe that either of these actions would protect our members from rising insurance costs. Finally, in Article 27, we unstruck the district’s strikes of our class size and caseload ratios and accompanying overage pay. We requested the district cost our proposal using this year’s staffing levels, in order to give us a clearer picture of the impact this proposal would have. The issue of growing class sizes and caseloads is not going away and we feel we need to better understand the impact of our proposal before we can continue to negotiate.
In the end, the district did not come back with a new counters to 22, 23 or 27. However, in addition to tentatively agreeing to Article 17, the district agreed to break free Article 26A from their “financial package” in order to TA that article. This is also a win, as it shows the district is willing to shift their expectations in order to make progress.
Another topic that came up is the possibility of signing a one or two year contract on financials and reopening a few articles once the state’s funding proposals are clearer. This will require more discussion.

Our next bargaining session is an all-day closed session on October 29th. We hope to make more progress and will keep our members up to date.

Thanks!
-Your bargaining team

Bargaining Update: October 8th

10/10/2024

This week's bargaining session had the best turnout of this bargaining cycle! Over 150 attentive, passionate educators wearing red and carrying signs descended on the RHS library and put the district on notice that we are engaged, committed and demand a fair contract!
The district presented counters on Article 17: Substitute and Student Teachers and then presented a series of counters on the articles they consider part of their “financial package”. This included their latest proposal on salary, insurance, and class size and caseload levels, among others.
The district’s current proposal on salary - which is 5% in year one, 3% in year two, and 2% in year three – barely keeps up with the cost of inflation, does not reflect our district’s historically low COLA increases or our place near the bottom of the Metro 14 districts, and is much less than neighboring districts who have similar ending fund balances (such as David Douglas School District, who just recently offered their employees 9% in year one and 3% in year two).
Similarly unacceptable was that our district’s counter to our class size and caseload proposal was to strike our proposed language around smaller, more balanced numbers and instead actually increase sizes at the secondary school levels. This reflects both a lack of awareness and a lack of commitment to creating the best possible educational experience for educators and their students. We need our district’s priorities to be more than just how many students can be fit in a room, but in what atmosphere do students most successfully learn and thrive?
We appreciate our members support and involvement, but the fight’s not over yet. We meet again with the district next Tuesday, October 15th, at the RHS Library at 4:30. We need to turn out in force and show the district that we are committed to making the changes our educators, students and families need to make Reynolds a better district for all.

See you then!

-Your bargaining team

Bargaining Update for September 23rd

9/30/2024

Monday, September 23 marked the continuation of our negotiations with the school district. Currently working without a contract, there were a healthy amount of members present to support the bargaining team and make it clear to the district that all of REA is watching and waiting for the district to collaborate on a fair contract settlement. Thanks to everyone who came out!
First on the agenda were articles 17 (Substitute and Student Teachers) and 18 (Student Discipline). In both cases, the district and REA agreed to discuss the articles at the table rather than present counters, feeling we had gotten close to an agreement.
Due to maintaining the language which allows members to use Article 18 to ensure safety in classrooms and accountability for Admin when students return to class, we were able to tentatively agree to Article 18. The district took a caucus to discuss Article 17 and although they strongly hinted that they would accept our language ensuring members would not be asked to sub more than two days in a week, they needed more time to work on other sections of the article.
Finally, our team presented a counter on Article 27 (Class size and caseload), maintaining clear class size and caseload expectations while lowering the amounts of overage pay, in an understanding that realistic ratios – not extra pay – is our real motivation. The district did not have an immediate response.
At our next session, on Tuesday October 8th, the district intends to bring a counter to Article 17 as well as a counter to their so-called “package” (which is essentially the majority of the remaining articles). This would include counters on Article 27, 22 (compensation) and 23 (insurance). We can’t overstate how important it is that members come out and use their voice to make sure the district knows how important these issues are.
We hope to see you there,
The Bargaining Team

Bargaining Update for 24/25 School Year

9/5/2024

Hello REA and welcome back!
As we begin the new school year, we want you to know that your bargaining team continues to work hard to ensure our members receive a fair contract which values your hard work and the dedication you show to your students, schools and community. Though we are in our second year of bargaining and currently working under the previous contract, we do not feel it is in our members best interest to rush towards an outcome if that means leaving us with fewer supports, overwhelming class sizes and caseloads, a lack of necessary prep time, less insurance, less sick leave and personal days, and less compensation than we need to support our own families during this time of rising inflation. We intend to stay the course and fight for the contract our members deserve!
The team met with the district last week and discussed next steps, establishing a schedule for the upcoming months. In order to ensure that the process is clear to our members, we are including a summary of which articles remain open and a schedule of future bargaining dates, both of which are below. Attached to this email is a survey. Please fill it out to help us get feedback on where you stand on the remaining issues. In the coming weeks, we will have posters in each building describing bargaining timelines and where we currently are in the process, as well as planning some actions over social media for members who want to get involved.
During the coming months, expect to hear important information from your building reps as well as directly from the team. Following REA on social media can help keep you up to date on what’s going on. And, as always, if you have questions, you can contact us directly. Remember, we are in this together!

In solidarity,

Brian Jay
Bargaining Chair
[email protected]
[email protected]

Open Articles
Article 7: Teacher Work Year
Article 9 : Teaching Hours
Article 14: Leave of Absence
Article 17: Substitute and Student Teachers
Article 18: Student Discipline
Article 22: Compensation
Article 23: Fringe benefits
Article 27 : Class Size and Caseload
Article 30: Duration of Contract
+ Appendices related to open articles, especially Appendix A (Salary Index)

Bargaining Schedule
All evening bargaining dates are open to the public and will be held at the RHS library from 4:30-8:30. The daytime bargaining session will be closed to the public.
Evening Sessions
Monday 9/23
Tuesday 10/8 and 10/15
Tuesday 11/12
Tuesday 12/3

Daytime Session
Tuesday 10/29

Bargaining Session #11 Update

6/10/2024

Our final scheduled bargaining session of the 2023/24 school year took place last Thursday, June 6th. We started by tentatively agreeing to Article 3: Miscellaneous and Article 26-C: Social and Emotional Wellness. REA came prepared with two proposed packages; Article 22: Employee Compensation and Article 23: Fringe Benefits, as well as the appendices with the salary schedules and then Article 7: Employee Work Year and Article 9: Teaching Hours. REA also came with a counter for Article 14: Paid Leaves of Absence.
We made tough choices in terms of where to compromise and make concessions. We came down on our COLA offer to 10%, 9% and 8% over three years. We also removed the 4 non-student contact days we wanted added throughout the year because we are agreeing to two member directed late starts per month. We opted to remove the extra sick days and personal day we had in our initial proposals bringing us back to status quo. We also made changes to longevity pay so that it will begin at the start of year 15 (rather than 10 like we had wanted) but increased the stipends by doubling them. There are some areas, however, we absolutely cannot give on. We cannot accept the district's changes to the insurance pool, which could potentially cause members to have to pay out of pocket for some of their expenses. We are also unwilling to let the district get rid of early retirement for members who are hired after the 2024 school year. We made changes throughout these packaged proposals that we hope the district will thoughtfully consider when creating their counter proposals.
Unfortunately, we will be starting next school year without a new contract. Our current contract will still be upheld until we sign a new one, and everyone continuing in the district who would normally get a step increase or longevity bonus will do so moving forward into next year.
REA and RSD will be meeting in late August to review where we left off and plan for bargaining sessions in the fall. REA is proud of the changes we have secured through tentative agreements so far, but we still have a ways to go before we are willing to agree to a new three year contract. We hope we can get there early in the fall so that those changes will take effect for members sooner rather than later. The work we have all put in this year giving input, showing up to bargaining sessions, and supporting one another will pay off!

Bargaining Update #9

5/28/2024

REA brought counters for Article 26A: SPED Services and 26C: Social-Emotional and Wellness Support Services. The district had struck language around serving unhoused youth from 26A stating it wasn’t relevant to SPED services, so REA moved that language to 26C to ensure it will be addressed by our Social Emotional and Wellness committee. Both sides agree that the language in 26C works and this article will likely be tentatively agreed to soon. In 26A REA had proposed that SPED staff receive an 8% stipend up 6% from where it currently is at 2%. RSD came back and proposed that SPED staff receive just 5% and removed language that staff can use the special compensation form when they need extra hours to complete their duties. REA does not believe 5% is enough if the district is going to take away members' ability to also use the extra compensation form, so this article will still need more work before we are willing to agree to it.
RSD created a financial presentation that showcased what our current proposals would cost them. The presentation was, frankly, underwhelming and left REA with more questions than answers. Here is a link to that presentation: RSD Costing of REA Proposals.pdf RSD then presented their proposal for Article 22: Employee Compensation. They countered our 13%, 12%, 11% with 5% in year 1, 1% in year 2 and 1% in year three. This is only an overall 1% increase from their initial proposal of 3%, 2%, 1%. These numbers do not keep up with inflation and will keep us near the bottom in terms of pay among the Metro 14 districts. They maintained that they wanted to strike January 15th as an opportunity for column movement which would decrease the number of times members can submit paperwork to move on the salary schedule. They also struck language we want added concerning honoring years worked in the district by classified staff who move into certified positions citing they need to research labor laws. REA feels strongly that we should honor folks who have spent time and worked hard in RSD as classified staff and will not allow this language to be removed. The district and REA had a discussion concerning REA’s language changes regarding credits earned subsequent to a master’s degree. Clair Thiel guest spoke to share how current contract language impacted her movement on the salary scale and how REA’s language change would have made a difference for her and others in her same position. Thanks Clair! The district agreed to changes made by REA to the years of experience coaches need to move up on the salary schedule but did not agree to our changes concerning assistant coaches moving into head coaching positions. There was also an interesting exchange between the district's lawyer and Brian Jay regarding outside organizations paying for staff to run clubs. REA wants to ensure staff are paid at our rate for their time running clubs, rather than whatever the outside organizations rate is. The lawyer did not seem to understand our position and argued that we cannot control how outside organizations pay and run their programs.

REA and the district have agreed to an additional all day bargaining session on Saturday, June 1st. This session will be held in the RHS library from 8:30am to 4pm. It will be open to the public and members are welcome and encouraged to show up! We are really getting down to the wire and it’s clear the district is trying to rush the process in order to wrap up bargaining by the end of the school year. REA, we have got to put the pressure on to keep the district in check and remind them that quality bargaining requires time and thoughtfulness! We will not let them push us to finish if we aren’t ready solely because they do not want to spend the time creating a solid contract with us.

Bargaining Session #8

5/8/2024

The continued turnout at our bargaining sessions is proving successful! The district has agreed to many of the things REA has proposed or countered in some of our previously opened articles. However, we need to continue to put the pressure on as we begin to tackle some of the more financially dependent pieces of our contract. Please check out the summary of this week's bargaining session below.

REA and RSD tentatively agreed to the following articles:
Article 4: Association Rights and Privileges
Article 5: Employee Rights
Article 8: Emergency Closure
Article 10: Professional Development
Article 19: Tuition, Project and Workshop Reimbursement
Appendix E: Tuition Reimbursement
Article 21: Dues and Payroll Deductions
Article 25: Reduction in Force
Article 26-B: Student Services - English Language Development

REA presented initial proposals for the following:
Article 22: Employee Compensation
Article 23: Fringe Benefits
Article 14: Paid Leave of Absence
Article 27: Class Size and Caseload Workload

REA’s OEA representative Bruce Scherer gave a financial presentation this week. The link to that presentation is here: 2024-05 REA Finance Barg Presentation.pdf The bargaining team also shared RSD’s counter to Article 18: Student Discipline with members who came. We are looking for feedback on whether or not the changes that have been made are adequate or if anything is still missing or seems off. Please review it and email Brian Jay ([email protected]) with any thoughts. RSD Amended Article 18-Student Discipline.pdf

RSD didn’t counter any of REA’s articles this session. Rather, they will bring a counter for Article 3: Miscellaneous and 23: Fringe Benefits at our next session. They also plan on sharing their own financial presentation as a counter to what Bruce Scherer shared this week.
REA will be bringing a counter to the district's initial proposal for Article 22: Employee Compensation, as well as counters to Articles 26 A (Special Education) & C (Social Emotional and Wellness Support).

RSD wants REA to meet with them for another all day session and has offered up some dates. REA wants to avoid another meeting where members won’t be able to attend, so offered Saturday, June 1st up as a date when we could do an all day meeting, but would make it open to the public so members could attend. There will be an update on that if and when anything is decided by the teams.

Our next bargaining session is May 23rd at 5pm in the RHS library. See you there!

Bargaining Session #7

5/8/2024

On May 2nd, the REA Bargaining Team met with the district’s team in an all day session where we worked on refining the language in some of the articles we had opened in previous bargaining sessions. Many of these articles had been “set aside” at previous bargaining sessions as being very close to agreed upon by both parties. A few others required more work and collaboration. Below is an update on each article we discussed.

Articles ready to be tentatively agreed to:
Article 4: Association Rights and Privileges RSD agreed to REA’s counter to keep our right to a Union 10 once a week.

Article 5: Employee Rights REA and RSD came to an agreement that members will be allowed three plans of awareness in one domain of the teacher evaluation tool per evaluation cycle. REA was also able to secure new contractual language around instructional program/model changes. If the district plans to make such changes, members will need to be notified 90 district work days in advance if the change is to be implemented in that school year. If the change is to occur the following school year, members will be notified no later than February 15th. The only exception to this would be if it were a state mandated change.

Article 8: Emergency Closures REA and RSD came to an agreement around adjusting the calendar to meet state required minimum seat time if we were to have emergency closures during the school year.

Article 10: Professional Development RSD agreed to our counter which included a one hour lunch break on PD days as well as the accounting for prior training and background knowledge when planning PD for members.

Article 19: Tuition Reimbursement RSD agreed to allow ALL members access to 6 credits of tuition reimbursement. This cleans up language around which classes those credits can be used for and clarifies what qualifies for tuition reimbursement. REA and RSD also agreed on language around national conferences. Members will be able to attend one per contract cycle and can use all 6 of their credits to fund it, if they choose. Conferences in Oregon and Washington will be exceptions to this and will not be considered “national” conferences.

Article 21: Dues and Payroll Deductions RSD agreed to REA’s counter to keep our pay date as the 20th of each month. Article 25: Reduction in Force REA and RSD agreed to add language concerning retaining employees with cultural and linguistic expertise to reflect state law.

Article 26-B: Student Services - ELD The district agreed to remove the language suggesting REA would cover compensation for committee meetings as all committee members are volunteers.

Articles that need more work:
Article 17: Substitute Teachers and Student Teachers REA and RSD still have a lot of work to do on this article. RSD claims there will be large financial implications if they agree to the terms of this article. REA disagrees and has requested information regarding the supposed financial implications they claim.

Article 18: Student Discipline RSD worked to change the way this article was written to make the process clear for what to do if students attempt to harm themselves or others. The Bargaining Team feels that the changes do a good job of clarifying the process for implementing Article 18, but want to bring it to the membership to ensure membership agrees with the language changes and understand the process as it reads in changed language.

Bargaining Update #6

4/26/2024

Turnout was amazing at this week’s bargaining session! We really stepped up to let the district know we are listening and paying close attention to every move they make. Here’s a run down of what was discussed if you weren’t able to make it:

Article 5: Employee Rights
REA brought a counter to the district’s previous proposal and the district came back with a proposal to our counter. We are still working on refining language around the specifics of plans of awareness, which the district had initially tried to strike but is now agreeing to maintain. We are also still working on language in our newly added section Q around when the district should notify members of district-directed changes to instructional models/programming. REA is working to ensure members have a large enough time frame to prepare for changes that come down the pipeline so that we can be the best we can for our students.

Article 7: Employee Work Year
REA put forth our initial proposal on this article which includes 6 paid holidays added to the calendar, as well as the addition of one more mid-year planning day and four more educator prep days. REA proposed that counselors get four days before the school year starts to prepare for students if they choose. It also included language that new hires get four days to prep before starting work including for those not hired before school starts. REA included a definition of a “balance of the year employee” to mean only those who would work less than 135 days in the school year. This would help ensure that more members earn their step increase and probationary year 1 status even if they are hired after the start of the school year. The district did not bring a counter back to us at this session.

Article: 19: Tuition Reimbursement
The district brought a counter that removed the limitations on members at the furthest end of the pay scale so they could use 6 credits of tuition reimbursement rather than 2 credits, which they initially proposed. They added language including what credits can be used on, how travel would be reimbursed depending on location, and added a caveat that only one national conference can be attended per contract cycle and would be limited to just 2 credits worth of reimbursement. REA countered with minimal changes but asked that members attending national conferences be able to use all 6 credits worth of their tuition reimbursement if they choose as they should be able to use their 6 credits of tuition reimbursement as they see fit.

Article 22: Employee Compensation
RSD brought an initial proposal with a COLA increase of 3% next year, 2% the following year, and 1% the year after that. They made changes to summer work pay that, they stated, made things more clear, but REA will have to look into it further to be sure there are not wider implications. RSD removed the January 15th deadline to move over on the payscale so that members would only have the ability to move in September and April. Finally, RSD wants to put a “sunset” provision on early retirement, so that no one hired after July 1, 2024 will have access to the early retirement benefits currently in our contract. REA did not counter in this session. We have some research to do.

Article 23: Fringe Benefits
RSD presented their proposal without numbers, saying they were waiting on OEBB to share information regarding insurance.They are also proposing that RSD contribute just $100,000 to the insurance pool when the previous contribution was $350,000. Lastly, they are completely striking REA’s ability to use ¼ of our unused insurance allocation on supplemental insurance. REA did not counter this article this session. We can’t negotiate over an incomplete proposal.

Article 26 A (SPED), B (ELD) & C (SEL and Wellness):
All three of these proposals had few changes. All three of them included a new section on committee protocols which outlined the distribution of minutes and need-to-know information to members of the committee and admin. They shifted language that the committees would “collaboratively plan” to they would “make recommendations”. In Article A they struck the topic of “homelessness/social service needs” from discussion at these meetings, stating these are student services and don’t belong in this article. However, they did not add this into Article C where it might better fit. On top of that, all articles included the same language stating that REA would be responsible for all payroll costs associated with members participation in these committees. REA countered on only Article B, agreed to many of the changes but switched that the committee would “make recommendations” to the committee would “collaborate and make recommendations”. We also struck that REA would be responsible for payroll costs, as these committees all function solely because members volunteer their time to participate and there are no payroll costs associated with it.

Your bargaining team has a day time meeting on May 2nd to discuss articles previously opened that need some language finessing in order to meet our demands. Nothing will be agreed to in that meeting and all changes will be presented at our next evening bargaining session on May 7th. A few members from the REA team will also be meeting with the district on May 8th to discuss the teacher mentor program being developed.

You really put the pressure on at this last bargain REA! Let’s keep pushing for the changes we want and need in our contract. See you May 7th at 5pm in the RHS library!

Bargaining Update #5

4/11/2024

We had another great turnout at our 5th session on April 9th. Thanks so much to all those who came for the first time and to those who keep coming! Your support means everything to the team and the district needs the continual reminder that they are bargaining with all of REA! Below are the takeaways from this session:

Article 5: Employee Rights

REA and RSD exchanged counters on evaluation cycle procedures, with RSD ultimately agreeing to maintain our original contract language protecting this process.
REA continued to advocate for collaboration regarding curriculum and teaching materials. We achieved some goals regarding this but will continue to push for language around REA and district agreement before choosing materials, equipment and training.
REA proposed a one-year notice for changes to instructional programs/models, with RSD suggesting a 90-day notification period. REA plans to counter this proposal in our next session with a few language changes for clarity and increased notification time.

Article 9: Teaching Hours

RSD proposed that flexible work schedules require written approval from both building admin and HR. REA countered, advocating for admin-only approval.
Agreement was reached on notifying staff of school hour changes three months in advance.
For elementary prep time, RSD proposed a plan similar to REA’s but with a change on Mondays to a 30 minute prep. REA has some work to do on this in our counter, but will only agree to these changes if RSD agrees to give members 2 late starts a month as planning days for staff.
RSD and REA agreed on four uninterrupted hours weekly for school psychologists, but diverged on librarians' management time and pay for required after-school activities. REA aims to restore our proposed contract language on these points but change librarians' protected time to 60 minutes.
Wellness activity release time, which was struck by RSD, was countered by REA to reinstate it.

Article 18: Student Discipline

A sidebar with the RSD team clarified their intent wasn’t to undermine members' rights in this article. Both parties committed to an all-day meeting on May 2nd to refine language while adhering to federal laws.

Our next bargaining session is on April 23rd at 5pm in the RHS library.
REA will counter Article 5 and introduce our proposal for Article 7 (Employee Work Year). RSD will respond to Article 19 and present initial proposals for Articles 22 (Employee Compensation), 23 (Fringe Benefits), and 26 A, B & C (Student Services). Your continued support and participation are crucial as we navigate these important issues! We look forward to seeing you at the next session!

Areas of Concern with RSDs Contract Proposals

3/11/2024

Link to RSDs Full Proposals:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17bTh8Nh9WcRJbrFvHyouj5cPnSIMYs47?usp=drive_link

Loss of Freedom & Power

Time: limits Union 10s while adding to 30 minutes to Friday work hours.
Cuts “collaboration” out of contractual committees. Gives the district power to ignore educator voice.
Cuts Union voice in evaluation cycles, school schedules, etc.
Guts Article 18.
Limits protections from being fired by eliminating the plan of awareness.

Loss of Pay

3%, 2%, 1% COLA “increase.”
Cuts access to additional insurance.
District intentions for insurance dollars is unclear.
Cut district contributions and limits member contributions to the insurance pool.
No increases in any stipends.
Sunsets early retirement.

Loss of Growth & Development

Removes reimbursable access to workshops or conferences.
Cuts reimbursable tuition hours for members furthest on payscale to 2 hours/contract cycle. (This limits members’ ability to advance on the salary schedule.)
Removes ability of members to borrow tuition money ahead from the next contract cycle.

Bargaining Session #3 Update

3/8/2024

Thank you for your continued support as we meet with the district to strengthen our contract! Here’s the lowdown on what happened at our March 7th session.

Article 3: Miscellaneous

REA explained the need to be clear about when action needed to be taken by members in communications from the district using examples from previous forms of insufficient communication from the district (i.e. “Keeping You Informed).
The district agreed that this was problematic and proposed putting “Action Required” in the subject line of emails. REA felt this language was appropriate and helpful.
RSD countered REA’s proposed language that the district respond to emails/phone calls by members within 24 hours with language proposing the district respond within 5 business days.
- REA found this unacceptable and countered with language requiring the district to respond within 2 business days.
This article remains open for discussion at the next bargaining session.

Article 4: Association Rights and Privileges

RSD countered REA’s proposed language to hold union 10s at any meeting once per week with language proposing union 10s be held twice per month.
- REA found this language unacceptable and an attempt to silence the union and countered with our original language of holding a union 10 once per week.
This article remains open as the district finds that this use of time at meetings is “inefficient” for all parties.

Article 8: Emergency Closures

We have set this article aside as both REA and RSD are in agreement around the changes to the language around emergency closures, however, we have not officially “tentatively agreed” to it yet.

Article 10: Professional Development

REA gave more context as to why we need to maintain a collaborative nature when developing PD. REA further explained the importance of meeting members' needs in terms of their prior experience and expertise when it comes to developing trainings for staff.
- RSD agreed to our proposed language of a one hour lunch break during PD/training days.
- REA agreed to RSD’s proposed language changes around considering prior knowledge and experience when developing professional development and trainings.
We have now set this article aside as both REA and RSD are in agreement around the changes to the language around professional development, however, we have not officially “tentatively agreed” to it yet.

Article 21: Dues and Payroll Deductions

REA worked collaboratively at the table with RSD on this article. After some discussion, we agreed to doing more research and discussion around ways we can mitigate some of the finance departments challenges to getting paychecks out on the 20th without changing the date we are paid each month.
We will come back to this article at a later bargaining session when we have more information on how to proceed to meet RSD’s needs and maintain our paydate of the 20th each month.

NEXT SESSION: March 19th in the RHS Library at 5pm.

REA is opening Article 5: Employee Rights and Article 9: Teaching Hour.
RSD is also opening Articles 5 and 9 as well as Article 19: Tuition Reimbursement

Bargaining Session #2 Update

3/1/2024

The REA bargaining team feels that the second session got off to a slow, overly complicated start. However, the district bargaining team was very impressed with our uniform, black REA swag. (Another chance to order is coming soon!)
We shared proposals for Articles 3, 4,10, 17, and 25. The district shared proposals for articles 4, 8, 10 and 25.
The bargaining team was frustrated by the need to spend time rehashing ground rules we thought were clear in our initial session.
Each side came with counters for all proposals presented so far, yet could only come to an agreement on Article 25. However, we have not tentatively agreed (TA) to anything yet. We are choosing not to TA any articles until the district has put forth all proposals.
The district struck all of the proposed changes to Article 17 (Substitute and Student Teachers) so we have agreed to come back to that article at a later session as we need more time than just a week to rework that. Look out for a survey from the bargaining team soon soliciting feedback around how many hours are spent subbing by members.
The turnout at the second session by REA members was great and extremely encouraging to the REA bargaining team (Especially in light of the fact that the district spent over an hour and a half in caucus). We appreciate you all sticking it out with us!

Initial Proposals and New Dates

2/2/2024

The below chart summarizes the articles opened by both sides, and includes a brief outline of the new language each side is proposing.

We also have officially set the dates for bargaining (we can add more as needed). Moving forward, all scheduled bargaining sessions will be held at the RHS library, starting at 5:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
Monday, February 26 (Articles to be discussed are Articles 3 [Miscellaneous], 4 [Association Rights and Privileges], 8 [Emergency Closure], 10 [Professional Development], 17 [Employee Work Year], and 25 [Reduction in Force])
Thursday, March 7
Tuesday, March 19
Tuesday, April 9
Tuesday, April 23
Tuesday, May 7
Thursday, May 23
Thursday, June 6

Click here to see the full language of REA's initial proposal.

Articles Opened by REA	Articles Opened by RSD
Article 3 – Miscellaneous District Email System	Value
Article 4 – Association Rights and Privileges Roster New Unit Member Information (Reference to Article 9) Right to Speak at Meetings Association Leave	Article 4 – Association Rights and Privileges Minor updates to procedures for Fall Orientation (4.D) and Speaking at Meetings(4.H)
Article 5 – Employee Rights Due Process Complaints Teaching Materials Instructional Program Model and Process Changes + Pronoun Cleanup	Article 5 – Employee Rights Update definitions under 5.D to bring it up to date with current Oregon regulations Update 5.E to align with the jurisdiction of FDAB Updates Procedures and Timelines for Evaluation (5.H.1) Address redundancy of Plan of Awareness (5.H.4) Review Monitoring of Evaluation Process (5.H.8) Update 5.N to include gender identity in line with current Oregon law
Article 7 – Employee Work Year Standard Contract and Distribution of Contract (adding, reallocating days) Paid Holidays Early Release and Late Arrival New Hires (Imported from MOU) Counseling Optional Extra Days (Imported from MOU)
	Article 8 – Emergency Closure Review district’s ability to reinstate inclement weather or emergency closure days (8.D)
Article 9 – Teaching Hours Adjusting school hours Prep Time (Elementary) SPED protected case management time School Psychologist protected time Librarian Protected Time Trade Time: Pay for 3 after school events + Language Cleanup	Article 9 – Teaching Hours Review length of workday to align with best practices for students (9.A) Also update 9.A.5 based on what work has been done by the working group Address process for release time for wellness activities (9.G)
Article 10 – Professional Development Member professional development needs and procedures	Article 10 – Professional Development Review process for site training and remove redundancies in current language
Article 14 – Paid Leaves of Absence Personal leave (add days and roll-over amount, buy out unused roll-over) Cost of Sub Leave Sick Leave (add) Paid Leave Oregon Language Mandatory Quarantine Sick Leave Bank Bereavement Days (add) System for recording sick leave
Article 17 – Substitute and Student Teachers Assigning Members as temporary substitutes (imported from MOU)
	Article 18 – Student Discipline Significant revisions to bring in line with state and federal law
Article 19 – Tuition, Project, Workshop Reimbursement Clarifying that hours don’t expire each year and can be borrowed ahead Unlimited membership in professional organizations Agreement to provide reimbursement for maintaining licenses and certificates Licensure or coursework for hard to fill positions Changing “Grade Slip” to “Certificate of Completion” Timeframe for requesting information In-district teacher training and development program (reference to Article 22 and Appendix E) +Language cleanup	Article 19 – Tuition, Project and/or Workshop Reimbursement Revisions to the reimbursable amount for each unit member and the types of events/activities that are reimbursable (19.A) Improve the approval process for 19.A.1 Remove unnecessary language related to substitutes (19.A.3)
Article 21 – Dues and Payroll Deductions Updating and Informing the Association on employee work locations
Article 22 – Employee Compensation Salary Increase Hired staff previously in district get placed higher on salary schedule based on experience Multiple endorsements and masters degree will have credits counted for placement 10:1 clock hour ratio for movement Longevity Bonus (starting earlier) Hours for credit – initial placement (change to Masters) Hours for movement change In district credit - Educator Training Program (reference to Article 19 and Appendix E) Extra duty compensation – changes to step system, years experience, stipend percentages and added new tables Club advisor stipends Early retirement payment amount Fix the age (58) Increase sick leave payout Deferred compensation plan language	Article 22 – Employee Compensation Update dates and amounts in 22.A Review Early Retirement provision and update language about PERS eligibility to reflect current PERS requirements (22.M)
Article 23 – Fringe Benefits Updated Insurance numbers (pending the district’s response to information request) HAS or HRA plans Spending unused portion of insurance (awaiting district’s response to information request) District pays employer and employee portions of Paid Leave Oregon Insurance for those taking extended leave	Article 23 – Fringe Benefits Update dates and amounts in 23.A, 23.C
Article 25 – Reduction in Force Cultural and/or linguistic expertise language added (complying with new law)	Article 25 – Reduction in Force Article 25.B.2.a. should be updated and add in provisions that were worked on following ratification
Article 26 – Student Services Add to SPED stipend	Article 26-A – Student Services: Special Education Update procedure and understanding surrounding Student Services Structure Committee (26-A.F) Article 26-B – Student Services: English Language Development Update procedure and understanding surrounding Programming Committee (26-B.B) Article 26-C – Student Services: Social-Emotional and Wellness Support Service Update role of committee (26-C.A)
Article 27 – Class Size and Caseload Workload Establish Class Size and Caseload Committee Establish Class Size and Caseload thresholds Establish overage pay for going over established thresholds	Value
Article 30 – Duration of Agreement Establishing new dates	Article 30 – Duration of Agreement Update years
Appendix A – Salary Schedule Delete 0 Step Change credits for column movement Appendix B – Salary Index Same changes as in Appendix A Adjust column amounts to be more evenly distributed Appendix C – Special Consideration Compensation Form New language around pre-approval Members paid hourly rate when covering for an EA Appendix E – Tuition Reimbursement & Column Movement Change of title Antioch allowed for librarians and media specialists Full text of Teacher Training Program proposal

Agreement on COVID Sick Leave Continues to be Out of Reach

12/11/2022

In September, REA filed a demand to bargain letter to start the process of bargaining an MOU that would re-open the COVID sick leave bank. REA wrote and offered an initial draft MOU for the District on September 19th. The District’s official offer, however, did not come until October 28. That proposal offered access to the bank only after all other leaver was exhausted by a member. Despite a number of changes and attempts to bargain in good faith by REA, the District continues to counter by denying access to a COVID sick leave bank prior to exhausting all other leave and striking nearly all other language. This includes striking any language for the MOU to be retroactive.
   REA continues to believe that the District’s offer is a slap in the face. Park Rose School District offered 5 days of COVID sick leave fully paid by the District up front. The Park Rose Faculty Association does not even have to help cover the cost of those days as REA did last year (we split the cost from our Sick-Leave Bank) and has offered to continue doing so this year. Prior to REA’s latest counter, there was no part of the MOU language that was new from what the District agreed to last year.
   REA has requested time to speak with the School Board about this MOU in their Executive Session this Wednesday, December 14th. It remains to be seen if that request will be honored. If so, we hope that sharing our goals and perspectives with the entire Board directly, along with District leadership, will help smooth out this process and assist in resolving our differences quickly. If this request is not honored, we will be addressing our concerns publicly in REA’s report to the Board and will reach out to Board directors piecemeal through our meet-ups.
   We also have multiple other MOUs that need to be bargained due to changes in law that impact language in our contract, and to prepare for Summer School, etc. To date, the District has refused to bargain more than one MOU at a time, delaying this work. If the District continues in this manner, a new course of action may become necessary.

Substitute MOU Update

10/17/2022

REA and the District have signed the Substitute MOU, which will now go to the Board for approval. This will hopefully take place at the October 26 Board Meeting. Among the highlights of the MOU:

The District will honor TOSA schedules and will not assign them to sub on days that conflict with their duties, such as district-level meetings and trainings.
The District will work proactively with members to ensure meetings and trainings that cannot be rescheduled are protected.
TOSAs will only be asked to sub at their respective assigned levels. For example, a K-5 academics curriculum TOSA would only be asked to sub in K-5 classrooms.
District Level TOSAs assigned to sub in Middle Schools will be informed of a substitute assignment no later than 8:00 pm the night before.
District Level TOSAs assigned to sub at other levels must be informed at least one hour before the report time for the assigned job.
Building based subs will be utilized first.
No member will be assigned to sub more than two days in a week, but may volunteer to do so.
Members assigned to sub more than four hours will receive additional substitute pay for a full day.
No member can be asked to sub during their prep time.
Members teaching additional classes (or partial classes) or taking on additional caseloads (SLPs, SpEd teachers, etc.) as the result of unfilled FTE will be compensated for the additional students in their classes and/or caseload. This pay will be equivalent to the FTE they are covering and will be pro-rated for partial caseload or partial classes.
Members will not be held accountable for job performance shortfalls during weeks in which they were assigned sub duties.
Adequate substitute materials will be provided for any substituting member; members will leave detailed notes for the absent teacher.
Long term sub assignments will not be filled by TOSAs on an ongoing basis.
Building specific positions will not be required to sub outside their respective buildings.

REA intends to hold a Zoom meeting with members in order to thoroughly discuss and answer questions about the MOU in the next two weeks.

REA is currently in negotiations and hope to conclude the In-Person MOU soon.

-REA Bargaining Team

REA Bargaining Update 9/9/22

9/9/2022

To begin the school year, we reached out to the district and expressed our desire to work on new In-Person and new Substitute MOUs. The district refused to work with us, so REA filed a Demand to Bargain. The district has now responded, and we are at work on the early draft stages of a Substitute MOU. We should be able to share our initial proposal following our next meeting with the district.

We hope to begin working on an In-Person MOU in the coming weeks as well, once the Sub MOU begins to move forward. We hope to retain access to the COVID sick leave bank and PPE among other things. More word on this soon.

Finally, the district has agreed to engage in discussions on the subject of personal appliances in teacher classrooms. The direction these discussions might go and whether or not they would result in an MOU is not yet known. We hope to be able to share more soon.

As always, the bargaining team is working hard to protect the interests of REA members and to help make the transition into the new school year as smooth as possible.

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