School Board Stand-off

Post date: Jul 17, 2011 12:56:55 AM

Bargaining is basically at a standstill until the matter of the 1.9% Washington State salary decrease is addressed. The current proposal from the Richland School Board would require teachers to increase class sizes and case loads across-the-board in order to receive the 1.9%. In the opinion of REA, this is a regressive measure, as are most of the other proposals from the District in this year's bargaining.

Paying the 1.9% to all teachers would cost the District between $600,000 and $700,000. Budget reserves are more than enough to cover this amount. If teachers were to opt for time, 1.9% equates to approximately 3.5 work days.

REA has pressed for compensation either monetarily (pay), in time (3.5 work days off), or a combination thereof.