Ridgefield High School in June 2020. Teachers in the district say they may go on strike if they can't reach a contract agreement with administrators by Sept. 7.
Rob Manning / OPB
Teachers in Ridgefield could soon go on strike, depending on the outcome of their union’s next contract negotiations with the district.
The Ridgefield Education Association on Monday voted by more than 90% to authorize a strike, according to union co-president Elizabeth Stamp. A true strike likely wouldn’t occur until after the union’s next bargaining session Sept. 7.
The union represents roughly 200 teachers, Stamp said. Many are dues paying members. A strike would be a major disruption for a school year that, by the time the next bargaining session occurs, would be just one week in.
“This affects everybody, and we recognize that,” Stamp said. “That’s why we’re hopeful that the district will be able to stop this trajectory and come to the table with a decent proposal for Ridgefield teachers.”
Joe Vajgrt, a Ridgefield School District spokesperson, said he couldn’t get into specifics on the negotiations, but noted the district is hopeful to ratify a contract without a strike.
“I think we’re all eager to come to an agreement so that we can move forward on providing excellent education to the students we serve,” Vajgrt said.
According to Stamp, the biggest sticking points between the two sides revolve around pay and classroom sizes.
On pay, the biggest issue Stamp pointed to was what she described as “flowthrough money.” Teachers in Washington state often benefit from state spending packages that give cost-of-living raises. While many districts’ contracts with teachers call for that money to be immediately spent on teachers, she said, Ridgefield’s does not.
“So we have to bargain for it, whereas other districts around Clark County have that in the language of their contract, and it just automatically flows through,” Stamp said.
The union also is seeking to shrink classroom sizes in special education. Because such students have a wide array of needs and safety concerns, special education departments often require a higher number of teachers per student.
“If we had smaller class sizes and more paraeducator support for our students, it would keep them safe and their education would be better,” Stamp said.
Ridgefield School District’s enrollment has grown by 64% in the last eight years, from 2,339 to 3,848 students, according to data from the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Meanwhile, voters have not sufficiently supported the district’s attempts at building new facilities.
Most recently, a $62.5 million dollar bond measure that would have built a 75,000-square-foot elementary school and an 18,000-square-foot expansion at the high school failed to get enough voter support. The bond received 59% support – but required a 60% supermajority.
The district’s growth and classroom sizes in departments outside special education aren’t major concerns at the bargaining table, Stamp said.
Stamp, a kindergarten teacher at Union Ridge Elementary School, said she and her colleagues will continue to teach classes at least until the next bargaining session. After that, she said the “ball is kind of in the district’s court.”
“We don’t want to impact our community if we don’t have to,” she said.
