Teacher strike still possible as Cheney Public Schools and union fail to reach agreement

Cheney Public Schools and the teacher’s union have yet to come to a tentative agreement on a new contract, bringing the union’s vote to strike on the first day of school if an agreement is not met.

Representatives from the school district and the union gathered at the bargaining table again Wednesday, the 16th session to be held since negotiations began in May. They’ve reached tentative agreements on 44 items of the contract that covers employee compensation, leave, work schedule and hours, among other details of teachers’ employment. Teacher salaries are among the items yet to be ironed out in negotiations.

In terms of compensation, union representatives proposed a 19% raise over two years: 8.2% this upcoming school year and an estimated 10.8% the next year.

The school district countered with an 18.1% raise over three years: 8.2% the first year, then 4.9% then 5%.

At Wednesday night’s school board meeting at the Cheney High School library, more than 100 union members arrived in their classic “red for ed” to signal their support for negotiation efforts. They filled the school library, overflowing into the hallway outside with red signs reading “Attract and retain good teachers” pressed against windows into the meeting space.

Teachers have been advocating for compensation increases on par with neighboring school districts to “recruit and retain” staff with competitive salaries.

In Cheney, teacher salaries ranged from $48,400 to $94,500, per the expiring contract bargained three years ago.

The average salary for full-time teachers in Cheney is lower than many other districts in the county. Not counting supplemental pay, the average teacher pay in Cheney was $71,800 in the 2021-22 school year and $72,100 the following year, the latest data available on the state’s database. Comparatively, in larger districts, Spokane Public Schools teachers averaged a base pay of $80,400 and $85,600 in those years, and Central Valley teachers’ base pay was $81,800 to $87,100 in those years.

Teachers in the smaller districts also earned more than their Cheney counterparts. East Valley teachers’ base pay averaged $92,800 in the 2022-23 school year, West Valley teachers averaged $80,700.

“Our members were hurt and angry at the district not prioritizing our classrooms,” said Meridth Lemelin, union president and fifth grade teacher. “They have been promised again and again that we would catch up with surrounding districts, and they have been patient, but now they are tired of waiting.”

In a presentation to the board, district finance director Jamie Reed shared the district’s financial picture, a regular update in school board meetings. The board set a priority of ensuring their fund balance stays no less than 5% of the general fund with a goal of 7%. She shared a model of the district’s compensation offer on the table, which she said would likely keep the fund balance in this threshold though there may be points throughout the school year where it goes lower than 5%. There are still a number of unknowns in the budget process, including enrollment numbers that determine the district’s funding from the state.

“We would have to be strategic, continuing on with what our staffing looks like,” Reed said. “There’s still some language items on the table, but I feel like where we are right now, we can still manage that.”

Asked by board Vice President Mark Scott whether the proposal would mean cutting staff or programs, Reed said she was “confident” they could avoid doing so through natural attrition as staff retire.

The district’s proposed compensation increase would put them around the median of neighboring districts, Reed said.

“I feel really confident in what our current proposal is, that it puts us right in that middle,” Reed said. “I don’t think we’ll ever be the highest, but we also don’t want to be the lowest.”

With no agreement met and three more bargaining sessions scheduled before the first day of school Tuesday, the possibility of a teacher strike hangs in the air above the 350 teachers, 5,600 students, their families, other school staff and district administration.

Cheney High School senior Astro Child was already feeling the first-day-of-school jitters set in a week before the scheduled first day on Tuesday. He’s nervous thinking about his heavy course load next year, including an accounting class to prepare him for a future career in finance.

While he recognizes a potential strike is out of his control, Child is concerned it could set him and his peers back academically. If his first day were pushed off by a couple days, he says he would feel as though he’s playing catch-up if the start of school were delayed.

“It could potentially give us less time to learn the stuff we need to learn for senior year or whatever year kids are going into, and then damage the academic course of the year,” he said. “It wouldn’t be very great for anyone.”

Though considering the academic implications, Child said he hopes the possibility of a strike will help the teachers unions efforts to secure a contract.

He’s heard from his teachers their struggles with feeling safe at work and lower compensation than other districts in the area.

“It would make sure they’re getting priced at a fair rate for dealing with people who could stress them out,” Child said.