North Thurston district, teachers reach tentative contract deal

North Thurston Public Schools and the North Thurston Education Association have reached a tentative contract agreement, avoiding a possible teachers strike.

The teachers’ previous contract expired last week and they were still negotiating when school started Wednesday.

The district announced the tentative agreement late Thursday but offered few specifics.

“This agreement will fund significant increases to teacher salaries and keep North Thurston Public Schools salaries competitive,” according to the district.

Teachers had planned to meet Friday to either review the ratification process for a contract or debate a strike authorization vote, according to Ray Nelson, the union president.

Nelson said that meeting didn’t happen since there is still wording in the contract that needs to be finalized. A vote to ratify the contract will happen later this month.

Nelson declined to say what salary increases teachers will get. But he noted teachers at the start of bargaining had asked for raises of 10 percent to 20 percent.

“We hit it, we’re there. The members are getting what they asked for,” he said.

This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 8:01 AM.