Your PAT Bargaining Team spent the day developing proposals that we hope can lead to a fair settlement, which centers the top priorities of educators, students, and families, as well as addressing many of the priorities we heard from our board members.  

We were in contact with the District team via our mediator and received proposals on Article 9 (Student Support, Discipline and Safety) and on our new Special Education article that left us underwhelmed. The actionable improvements to environmental safety remain absent.  Management’s proposal continues to reverse the progress we had made, and we find it particularly unsavory that management is holding back improvements in Special Education in order to achieve more management power over educator transfers. 

Tomorrow, we fully expect to see proposals from management that directly address class sizes.  This is one of our top priorities and thus far, management’s only response to our demand to bargain over class sizes has been “no.” Once we begin to address class size, we are hopeful that it will be possible to make genuine progress.  

We believe that any hope for a quick end to these negotiations will require the continued face-to-face presence of school board members. This will ensure that both parties' needs and concerns are fully heard and understood. We look forward to meeting with them tomorrow at the bargaining table as well.

Your direct action on the picket, messages to the board, massive presence at rallies and the incredible support of our students, parents and community are making all the difference.  The message is clear - our community wants and needs what we want - fully supported teachers and schools that are able to meet the needs of the whole child.  We will stay at the table and on the line until we have a contract that helps these goals become a reality!

For any other questions check out our updated FAQ

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For a splash of joy check out our special guest at today's rally, the No Drama Llama (but he's actually an alpaca). 

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Steve Lancaster, Chair
Francisca Alvarez
Samara Bockelman
Julia Fogg
Thea Keith
Charity Powell
Ryan Olds, OEA Staff
Angela Bonilla, President