Negotiations continue between BGPS, teachers

BATTLE GROUND – A strike vote by the members of the Battle Ground Education Association (BGEA) fell 16 votes short on Nov. 23 and representatives of the union and Battle Ground Public Schools (BGPS) went back to the negotiating table this day.

The teachers and the district have been in negotiations since May on a new agreement. Leadership of the BGEA presented its membership the district’s latest offer at the meeting, attended by a majority of the union’s 825 full-time equivalent teachers. Union policy dictates that in order for strike vote to pass, two-thirds (or 66.67 percent) of the teachers must vote to approve.

“I had thought it wouldn’t be as close as it was so that was a little disappointing to me,’’ said Mark Hottowe, superintendent of BGPS. “We have been in negotiations with the use of a PERC (Public Employment Relations Commission) mediator for a number of sessions and the mediator is here today (Tuesday). We’re continuing to work on language in the contract. We have language and money still to settle on and in some cases they overlap.’’

Earlier this year, the Washington State Legislature approved a 3 percent COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) that is funded by state allocations. The BGPS offer adds an additional increase on top of that, but it fell short of meeting with the teachers’ approval. Details of the negotiations were not available due to a confidentiality agreement between the two sides.

“The Battle Ground Education Association’s 830 educators have been working without a contract since Sept 1, 2015,’’ BGEA President Linda Peterson said in a statement emailed to The Reflector Tuesday. “The BGEA Negotiations Team has met with Battle Ground district personnel, including Superintendent Mark Hottowe, more than a dozen times since May 2015. The district’s unwillingness to acknowledge the increasing demands on educators compelled us to bring in a mediator from the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) in September.

“We have been unable to reach an agreement that compensates our members in a way that acknowledges the work they do for the students and families of the Battle Ground community,’’ Peterson wrote. “We have asked for smaller class sizes, more counselors, sufficient classroom supplies, and a modest salary increase that still leaves Battle Ground classroom teachers the second lowest paid in Clark County.’’

Hottowe said the BGEA claim that the teachers are working without a contract is an “untruth.’’

“The teachers continue to work on the previous contract,’’ Hottowe said. “The teachers want to say they are working without a contract. That is an untruth. They know they have a continuing contract. State law and administration code specifies when an existing contract expires, it stays in effect until a new one takes place. They are well aware of that.’’

Hottowe indicated that negotiations would take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday break but he expressed optimism that they would resume soon thereafter and continue until an agreement is reached.

“We are hopeful that the district and BGEA negotiating team will continue to work towards the middle and within a short period of time we hope the group will tentatively agree to a new contract that will be presented to the general staff, they will have a general meeting and all teachers will come and approve the new contract,’’ Hottowe said. “We will get there eventually, there’s no doubt about that. We just hope it’s sooner rather than later.’’

According to a graphic provided by the BGPS, a basic education teacher in the district is paid the following: starting teachers receive $38,381 salary plus $11,514 average benefits for $49,895 in total compensation; middle-level teachers receive $54,885 salary plus $16,466 average benefits for $71,351 total compensation; and top-level teachers receive $72,342 salary plus $21,703 average benefits for $94,044 total compensation.

Hottowe indicated that a source of frustration for the Battle Ground teachers is that they don’t make as much as teachers in the Vancouver and Evergreen school districts. Hottowe said there are two factors to consider when assessing the differences between BGPS and its neighboring districts.

Battle Ground’s superintendent pointed to the fact that the district is still recovering from years of financial challenges caused in part by failed levies. The BGPS currently has a reserve balance of about 2 percent, or $3 million. The Evergreen School District, by comparison, has a reserve fund balance of more than $20 million.

“What makes our situation different is that we have only recently got off the state’s watch list for districts with financial risk,’’ Hottowe said. “We have been working for a number of years to build up our reserves so we can be financially stable. We’re at a 2 percent fund balance, approximately $3 million, other districts such as Vancouver and Evergreen, have significantly higher reserves. We’ve had issues passing levies in the past and it takes decades to make up for lost levies.’’

Another key difference to consider about the BGPS, according to Hottowe, is the district’s level of unfunded staff. Unfunded staff members are paid by the district with levy funds, not with the funds provided by the state. Unfunded staff positions include school psychologists, special education teachers, language pathologists, school counselors and registered nurses among others.

According to numbers provided by the district, the BGPS has 26 percent unfunded staff, more than any other district in southwest Washington. Hockinson is next at 20 percent followed by Evergreen at 16 percent, Kelso (15 percent), Washougal (13 percent), Camas (12 percent), Longview (12 percent), Vancouver (10 percent) and Ridgefield (6 percent).

“The district has negotiated in good faith over the years with teachers to provide these additional resources believing it was for the benefit of students, which i agree with,’’ Hottowe said. “If I were to be a student, or have a student and could choose a place for them to be, this is the place with the most caring adults in western Washington, for sure.’’ 

More from the BGEA

In an interview with The Reflector, Linda Peterson, president of the Battle Ground Education Association, said that probably at least 100 teachers attended a Nov. 30 meeting of the Battle Ground School Board of Directors, and many spoke during the communications portion of the meeting. This was the fourth or fifth school board meeting attended by numerous teachers to address the school board about the ongoing negotiations. 

"There were a number of teachers there asking questions," Peterson said. "There were a number of questions being asked about Mr. Hottowe's salary. The other issue that was raised was about paid holidays and paid vacation days (in the superintendent's contract)."

Peterson said she had been hopeful after a smaller meeting that took place between herself, Hottowe, Linda Allen and the PERC mediator a few weeks back, and had been feeling optimistic. She said they were crunching numbers and coming up with ideas and she had felt good about it. However, Peterson said the PERC mediator called her the next day and told her that Hottowe had said he gave his best and final offer. 

"I was deflated again," Peterson said. "That was when we decided we would take it to our rep council and we came up with a policy for the 2/3 votes to strike and decided to hold our general membership meeting."

"At the very beginning of these negotiations, we met with the district's negotiation team and Mr. Hottowe said to us, 'there is $1.6 million of discretionary money, there are two open contracts, you decide how you're going to spend it,'" Peterson said. "I said to him, 'that isn't negotiation' and he asked what I expected. I told him I expected we would give him our proposal, he would give us the district's proposal and we would negotiate back and forth until we had a contract."

The district and the teacher's union will enter back into negotiations on Dec. 11. Prior to that, however, the BGEA will hold a budget analysis forum for the community on Tue., Dec. 8, 7-9 p.m., at the Battle Ground Community Center, 912 E. Main St., Battle Ground. Peterson said the meeting will walk community members through the school district's budget and will provide a better understanding of how the budget works from a different perspective.

Peterson said the BGEA will also hold another general membership meeting soon, during which there could be another vote regarding whether or not teachers should strike. She does not know the date of the meeting yet. 

Staff reporter Joanna Michaud contributed to this article.