PORT ANGELES – The first day of school has arrived in the Port Angeles School District, and schools are operating as normal today.
But that might not last too long into the new school year.
The teachers union has called a strike for this Tuesday. The announcement came Wednesday evening after the Port Angeles Education Association and Port Angeles School District couldn’t reach an agreement on a new contract. Both sides have been in lengthy negotiations for the past two days. There’s no announcement when more talks might resume. In a statement released last night, the teachers union said they hope an agreement can be reached before Tuesday.
For now, schools will operate normally Thursday and Friday.
Teachers are asking for a five and half percent cost of living adjustment and want better compensation for work that happens outside of their normal contracted time. They also seek smaller class sizes.
District spokesperson Carmen Geyer told us the negotiating teams went back to the bargaining table at 1:00 Thursday to try and avoid a strike.