PORT ANGELES – As we reported Wednesday, Port Angeles School District para educators have authorized a strike to begin Thursday, November 15 after rejecting the school district’s latest wage increase offer.

District Superintendent Marty Brewer says the District has a state mediator coming to town Tuesday and Wednesday to assist with the collective bargaining process, with the goal of resolving the issue and avoiding a strike.

In case that doesn’t work and the strike goes forward, he says they’re working on a contingency plan to keep schools open and cover those positions. We asked him who would be used as replacements for the para educators.

Is he confident those replacements would satisfy state and federal mandated requirements for special education students?

 Brewer says that out of the almost $1 million the District received from the McCleary funding, only 6.5 para educator positions are funded. But there are over 100 para educators working in the district, and their wage increases would have to come from other funding sources specially earmarked for student needs.