Critics say Portland educators are harming students by striking and asking for financial increases the school district can’t afford. The union says the district is manufacturing a crisis.
Approximately 3,700 Portland Public Schools workers, represented by the Portland Association of Teachers, or PAT, went on strike Nov. 1 after several rounds of mediation sessions for the union’s next three-year contract.
Even though a GBAO poll found 88-91% of Portlanders support the strike, the union is facing backlash over its alleged refusal to budge on cost-of-living adjustments and for displacing students and inconveniencing parents.
Teachers say the criticism comes from a false narrative.
“Our PAT bargain is all about students and our community and great public schools for all,” Alisha Chavez, a K-2 intensive skills teacher at Atkinson Elementary, said. “We have spent a long time getting the voices of the community and voice of the students in our bargaining proposal.”
PPS did not respond to Street Roots’ requests for comment.
Priced out
The union and the district’s final proposals in September paint a considerable divide between the two parties. The two parties' offers are $76 million apart per year.
While PAT sought a 21% cost-of-living adjustment over three years, the district offered half the increase.
People less familiar with cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, may see the union’s number as high. The adjustment isn’t too different from other represented public employees.
This year, the Portland State University Faculty Association won a 10% cost-of-living adjustment for the year. State employees, represented by AFSCME, won a 6.5% increase in December 2023, a 6.55% increase in December 2024, followed by another 6.55% for 2025.
By comparison, PAT asks for 8% in the first year — the highest adjustment of all three years.
“I think that there's some false narrative about what is happening at the bargaining table,” Chavez said. “(PPS’) COLAs do not meet inflation at all, and so what's happening is Portland teachers can't live in the cities where they work, or they can't afford to even live in Portland in general. So they're moving out to surrounding districts.”
An August Axios report ranked Portland the second most unaffordable city in the United States for teachers.
Research by the National Council on Teacher Quality found Portland teachers who own their homes spend approximately 44% of their income on housing costs. The city remained the second-least affordable for teachers renting a one-bedroom apartment.
The other sticking points for the union are class sizes and health and safety concerns.
Mold, rodents, water leaks
PAT’s September proposal asked for hard caps on class sizes and caseloads. The district’s proposal offered no restrictions on class sizes or caseloads.
Chavez said first-grade class sizes can be as high as 28 students. Fourth-grade classes reach up to 32, she said.
“Students deserve more time or services,” Chavez said. “What's happening in my class is that a lot of students are getting the bare minimum and not enough attention from me as the teacher in the classroom because I just don't have the time to support every student.”
Students who struggle in school aren’t getting the instruction they need because teachers can’t provide one-on-one or small-group instruction, she added.
The district’s schools are also rife with mold, rodents and water leaks, the union says. Educators say the classroom temperatures are unregulated, creating uncomfortable or unsafe learning environments.
PAT’s proposal called for the district to keep classroom temperatures between 60-90 degrees and allow teachers to report and refuse to work in classrooms with safety hazards like water leaks, mold and rodent droppings.
PPS’ final proposal seems to reject each of the union’s requests without a compromise.
Public perception says the stalemate hinges on the union’s inability to grasp the district’s financial realities, but educators say this is a narrative crafted by the district administration.
Manufacturing a crisis 101
Portland educators say PPS is sitting on a $100 million general fund it could dip into to increase education quality for students and better compensate workers.
According to the union, the district could spend up to $53 million of the starting general fund balance in the 2023-2024 budget and maintain more than the policy minimum.
“They've been saying, ‘We need to save that for the rainy day fund,’” Chavez said. “It's raining. We're struggling. So when is it going to rain more?”
The union also says the district is bargaining based on forecasts that don’t include the State School Fund and Student Investment Account yearly increases — approximately $20 million.
“The district spending on instruction has lagged compared to other budget areas, like administration,” the union said in a September report.
A 2019 audit from the Oregon Secretary of State concluded the Oregon Department of Education’s supervision of the district’s spending was limited and that the district was increasingly spending more money on support services and less on instructional services.
The district’s executive administration service cost $11.5 million from 2012 to 2018, and other administrative costs grew by $12.4 million.
The audit recommended the district find “potential savings areas” in its executive administration, use of substitute teachers and educational assistants, health benefits, bus services, legal services and building utilization.
Despite the state’s recommendations, PAT said the district again decreased the instructional budget for 2023-2024 and increased administrative and central office staff. The union says the district could afford its financial demands if the district considered cutting its excessive spending on administrative services.
State lawmakers agree.
In a Nov. 2 letter, 16 state legislators reprimanded the district for its “superfluous administrative spending” and pointed to the state’s historic education allotments this year.
The legislators pointed out PPS spends approximately 48% of its budget directly in the classroom, while comparable districts spend 55-56%. While PPS spends about 6% on administration, comparable districts spend 2-3%.
“There is a path here to address the issues at the bargaining table,” the legislators wrote.
If the district maintained the same administrative and central office staff salary budget as 2022-2023, PAT said PPS would save $6.2 million.
Both parties are continuing to meet throughout the strike. PAT says it is committed to staying on strike until the district makes “real investments” in Portland students.
“We know through the history of labor unions and the labor movement that when we strike, we win,” Chavez said. “We're doing it for our students and for our community.”
"Safer conditions in the schools, smaller class sizes so that it's safer for students. We want to see more wraparound support so our students who have extra needs are getting what they need, and we'd like to keep our wages at the same level as the cost of living, as inflation, not more ... just keeping up with it."
- S. Sparrow West
Art teacher at Richmond High School who said her average class size is 28 to 30 students
"I feel students are not being supported for mental health, I want to see more support for those students with those special needs, because they need that support. I just want to keep making a difference for my teachers and staff, working together as a team with compassion, integrity and excellence."
- Toby Barrow
Student health assistant at Richmond Elementary School
"It seems to be happening throughout our country, throughout many organizations that are public and serve the public. There is less support, and we have a population that is struggling more than ever before in the 30 years that I have been around in the public sector. It seems that we don't have the resources to help these kids and their families."
- Maureen O'Day
PPS K-12 teacher for over 30 years, still working as a substitute
"I would like it to be roughly around 20 (students) so I can have more time with each student. I don't have time for each student. I try my best, but with no help, I can't tend to all of them, which is unfortunate."
- Toshiko Rivera,
First-grade teacher at Richmond Elementary who said she has 30 students in her class and no help.
"Our family fully supports the teachers union in their ongoing fight to ensure that our students have the best possible learning environment while at school. The (school district’s) inability to properly allocate school funding, failure at maintaining clean, healthy school buildings, and their neglecting to pay teachers a wage that properly compensates the incredible work they do is what led to this point. I’m proud of the teachers union for standing up to fight for our kids."
- Amy Norris
PPS parent, Boys and Girls Aid family permanency specialist
(Amy’s daughter Avery also shown)
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