On May 1 hundreds of members of the Bend Education Association, the union representing 1,100 Bend-La Pine Schools employees, gathered outside the BLPS district office in downtown Bend to deliver the initial proposals to their bargaining agreement to district staff. The educators' current bargaining agreement expires on June 30, and if a new contract isn't agreed to by then they could start the next school year without an updated agreement.
"A collective bargaining agreement has not been fully reopened in over six years, and it is in dire need for a significant amount of updates," BEA President Sarah Barclay said at the May 1 meeting. "Bend Education Association will present you a comprehensive proposal centered on finding real solutions to all of the issues our members have prioritized."
Barclay said despite a sense of post-pandemic normalcy, issues remain for the teaching staff at BLPS. She says educators are often stretched too thin and aren't given enough time to engage with students.
"Our educators need time to be able to grade work and prepare lessons that meets the needs of the students in front of them," Barclay told the Source Weekly. "When you have 40 or 50 kids in a class, you cannot teach each individual student as they deserve unless you're given the time to prepare those lessons well."
Another common theme in the BEA's revised bargaining agreement is compensation. Barclay said BEA members' purchasing power is lower than it was in 2012. Inflation and increased costs of living are big factors in this assessment, but Barclay said BLPS employees are paid less than employees in other large districts across the state that haven't had as dramatic cost of living increases.
"Portland, Eugene, Beaverton — those other districts that are similar in size to us, when you look at the compensation between the districts there is a significant difference. And we are on the lower end," Barclay said.
BEA is also seeking more support for professional development from the district and more assurances of a safe work environment. Since students returned to in-person learning, teachers have shared concerns about disrupted learning when students interrupt lessons, to the district. At a Feb. 14 school board meeting teachers spoke about disruptive behavior, including student threats toward teachers.
A BEA survey of 90% of its members showed educators believe disrupted learning should be a high priority for district staff. After two years of remote learning, some teachers report students are less prepared academically and less developed socially.
"We're playing catch-up in the classroom with people who have big gaps in their skills. On the other side, you have people whose — what we've gotten used to thinking as normal levels of socialization for their ages, is a lot less. So, kids are acting in general younger than they used to," said Frank Brown, an English teacher and Summit High Building Representative for the BEA.
In response to complaints, BLPS assembled a task force on school climate and culture. At its first meeting on April 24, the 32-person task force agreed that COVID rapidly changed school culture and left many students with a lack of belonging and a deficit in social skills. Though COVID exacerbated behavioral issues, the district said it's been a challenge since at least 2018. The issue of belonging is especially pronounced in students with the highest needs for mental, emotional and behavioral supports.
"If a kid has a well-established friend group and some social status, then school can be a reasonably pleasant place to be. But for a more alienated kid or a kid with no social status, it can be a very unpleasant place to be," Brown said. "I think that there's a greater and greater gap between the kids who are very comfortable because everything seems to be built for them and the kids who feel as though there's nobody in school who knows them or understands them."
Union negotiations continue on May 18, when the district will come back with a counter proposal to the BEA's demands. At the same time, the Oregon School Employees Association, which represents school employees outside of instruction, is also working on a new contract with the schools.
"Relative low wages (below living wage rates) and injuries on the job have an impact on staffing levels and workload concerns. Since 2019 we have seen a classified employee turnover rate of 52% with 59% of our current staff having less than five years on the job, and many positions remain unfilled," Debbie Christian, president of OSEA Chapter 6, wrote in an email in response to questions. "OSEA's interest is to negotiate fair living wages, equitable benefits including affordable healthcare insurance, and safe and respectful working conditions."
