Dear PPS community,

Today's bargaining session with the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) was productive. While we have not reached a contract agreement, we have made progress on and continue to discuss critical issues important to our teachers and students. 

In the last two days, we have exchanged proposals that touch on critical issues like teacher planning and preparation time, student discipline and support, environmental safety, special education, and mental health support. We also met with the Chief Financial Officer for the state’s Department of Administrative Services to answer questions about our current budget and proposals to PAT.

Board of Education members  Gary Hollands, Julia Brim-Edwards, Patte Sullivan, and Eddie Wang joined us throughout the day and engaged directly in dialogue with PAT representatives. We are grateful for their involvement and guidance as we seek a fair settlement within our fixed means.

We will continue working through these topics so we can reopen schools as soon as possible.  We plan to negotiate tomorrow and throughout the weekend. We will keep you updated on any further progress. 

PPS Bargaining Team