La Conner teachers ratify contract with district

Last Tuesday, Aug. 26, La Conner school teachers ratified a contract that had been negotiated by their bargaining team that afternoon with the school administration, averting a strike on the first day of school.

At the 7 p.m. meeting, La Conner Education Association members resoundingly approved the two year agreement, which increases minimum total pay to $50,633 in year one and $51,595 in year two and maximum total pay to $106,540 in year one and $108,157 in year two. With all Skagit Valley school districts with contracts except for Conway, this makes La Conner teachers among the highest paid in the county.

The La Conner school board is expected to approve the contract at a special meeting Sept. 10, said Kate Szurek, board chair. She noted both sides gave to gain an agreement: “The district went up and the teachers went down. That sounds like compromise to me.”

Szurek noted that the Tuesday negotiating session emphasized “new parameters that would be sustainable by the district.” She is heartened the teachers association “is committed to working with the leadership team going forward to make sure.”

In their news release, the teachers association says “These salaries will make it possible for La Conner to attract and retain high quality teachers. … the agreement allows La Conner to attract and keep caring, qualified educators in the community for La Conner students.”

All 294 pubic school districts in Washington have to reach contract agreements with their teachers, a result of the state legislature following the supreme court’s mandate and settling the McCleary decision, which found that schools were not adequately funded and teachers not adequately paid. The legislature approved some two billion dollars of new funding for teacher salaries this spring.

The La Conner School District has some 560 students, and the La Conner Education Association represents more than 49 certificated teachers.