Washougal teachers, school district reach tentative agreement on 2-year contract

Washougal teachers and the Washougal School District have reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

“The association will work to have the contract ratified by their members. Once ratified, the contract is subject to approval by the Washougal School Board,” the district stated Friday, Sept. 30, in a brief update published on its bargaining information website.

Washougal Association of Educators (WAE) teachers’ union representatives met with the district’s bargaining team twice this week — for 4.5 hours on Monday, Sept. 26, and again on Thursday, Sept. 29.

According to the district, the most recent offer “provided an additional salary increase to the previous offer, which is at a 7% increase in total compensation for the 2022-23 school year,” and agreed to provide at least a 3% cost of living increase in the second year of the contract, as well as one additional paid day off and “additional funding for longevity stipends.”

“Under this offer, teachers at the top-end of the pay scale will make $112,585 in total compensation, and would still be among the highest paid teachers in the region,” the district stated.

Washougal teachers have been working since Aug. 30, under the terms of their former contract, which expired at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

WAE President James Bennett told The Post-Record early in the bargaining process that union leaders were focused on “reaching a deal that includes fair pay for educators to ensure everyone with the critical job of teaching and caring for Washougal students earns enough to support themselves and their own families.”

This is a developing story. Read more in the Oct. 6, 2022, issue of the Camas-Washougal Post-Record.