One of our main goals this year is to settle a contract that brings us closer to the schools our students deserve. It’s time for us to take another step towards that goal.

Although the election results mean Measure 97 will not be bringing us the new revenue we sorely need, we are prepared to continue our fight. Next week, our bargaining team will spend two 12-hour days negotiating with the District. I couldn’t be more excited to get back to work advancing our agenda for public education and the students we serve.  

PPS has a new Senior Director for Employee & Labor Relations, and after these next two days of contract talks, we’ll have a much better picture of where bargaining is headed. We hope these sessions are productive and that all the progress we’ve made in smaller group discussions is reflected in the District’s next set of proposals. After we wrap up the next round of bargaining we’ll update you on our progress.

Our interim superintendent, Bob McKean, is visiting our November RA today to answer questions. Working with him and other District officials makes me cautiously optimistic that PPS is headed in a better direction. That said, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. The District is still plagued with dysfunction, and after this election, it’s more important than ever to fight for strong public schools.

In PAT we’ve never shied away from a challenge and this is no different. Together, we can change things for the better—for ourselves, for the students we serve, and for the entire Portland community.

In Solidarity,

Suzanne Cohen
PAT President