Tumwater teachers, district officials to seek mediator for contract

The Tumwater Education Association and Tumwater School District agreed Thursday to file jointly for mediation services through the state Public Employment Relations Commission because of a stalemate in contract negotiations, according to district spokeswoman Kim Howard.

“We’ve moved to that,” she said.

The union represents about 400 teachers in the nearly 6,250-student district.

“We’re just really far apart right now and we don’t see the two sides getting much closer using the process that we’re doing right now,” said union president Tim Voie.

In recent weeks, the union’s members have had several informational pickets in front of the district’s headquarters.

Tumwater’s teachers have been working under an expired contract since the start of the school year. Supplemental compensation for the district’s teachers and planning time for those who work at elementary schools have been the two major sticking points.

Voie estimates that Tumwater’s teachers annually make “anywhere from $3,500 to $6,500” less than teachers in nearby districts. Out of 28 districts of similar size throughout the state, Tumwater ranks the lowest in compensation, Voie said.

Although teachers’ salaries are based on a state schedule, districts can negotiate supplemental compensation.

According to the district, during the 2014-15 school year, Tumwater teachers earned more supplemental pay than the four smaller school districts in Thurston County, and less than the county’s largest school systems: the Olympia School District, which has about 9,800 students, and the nearly 14,700-student North Thurston Public Schools in Lacey.

The district is negotiating a new contract with the 54-member Tumwater Office Professionals Association, which represents building secretaries, office assistants and administration assistants. That union’s contract isn’t part of the mediation request, Voie said.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Tumwater teachers, district officials to seek mediator for contract."