Bend-La Pine Schools, Bend Education Association leaders talk about new 4-year contract agreement

(Update: adding video, comments by Bend-La Pine superintendent, union president)

Supt. praises 'resilience, tenacity' of bargaining teams: union leader calls it 'step in the right direction'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- After months of lengthy negotiations and amid plans to call in a state mediator, negotiators for the Bend-La Pine Schools and Bend Education Association hammered out a new four-year contract agreement Monday evening to replace a contract that expired last summer.

A news release Tuesday from the school district and union said the two sides reached a conceptual agreement on a new contract for certified employees in the school district, which includes teachers, nurses, school psychologists, social workers and others. 

The four-year collective bargaining agreement concludes negotiations that began last spring. The bargaining teams for the district and BEA were prepared to jointly request the assistance of a state mediator if an agreement could not be reached. "A mediator won’t be needed now," they said.

“This agreement is the result of lengthy and deep discussions with certified employees in our district on issues that matter both to them and to us,” Superintendent Steve Cook said. “We are committed to continually working to make Bend-La Pine Schools an employer of choice in our region, and to ensure our employees feel valued and cared for. We move closer to these goals with the mutual agreements we worked out through these negotiations.”

“I appreciate all of our educators for their patience as we worked through so many issues over the past eight months,” Cook added. “I also want to thank both bargaining teams for their resilience and tenacity in bringing this agreement to bear.”

"Just that process of going over 20 articles and all of the language in there showed a dedication to both our bargaining -- from our bargaining team to their bargaining team."

BEA President Sarah Barclay said, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that prioritizes improvements to workload, learning environments, professional compensation and access to health care.”

“The bargaining teams were dedicated to finding solutions to issues that our members advanced as necessary improvements for our students, staff and community, and persevered through a difficult process until those issues were addressed sufficiently," she added. "This agreement is a step in the right direction, and we still have work to do, together.”

The conceptual agreement provides a cost-of-living increase for certified employees: 6.2 percent for the current school year, retroactive to July 1, 2023; and 4.15% for 2024-25, effective July 1, 2024. The agreement also includes increases in the district’s insurance premium contribution: $50 a month effective Oct. 1, 2023; and $45 a month effective Oct. 1, 2024.

Speaking on the impact of this raise, Barclay said it will "really will make sure that our folks can be here, can thrive, that we're considering their workload. Those plans are okay. They get access to health care, but there's a bigger system that we need to look at, which is the Oregon Educator Benefits Board," in regard to insurance coverage offered by the district.

The bargaining teams also agreed to reopen discussions in spring 2025 to negotiate salary and insurance cap adjustments for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years. In addition, each party will be allowed to reopen two other language items in the contract at that time.

The parties will bring the proposed 2023-27 collective bargaining agreement, which includes dozens of negotiated changes, to the BEA membership for a ratification vote and to the School Board for approval.

"I think eight months is what we spent on this," Cook said. "We were fully committed the entire time. Both bargaining teams saw that in the room, this willingness to roll up our sleeves and find real answers."

The school district is still negotiating with the Oregon School Employees Association Chapter 6, representing classified employees in the district. Bargaining sessions are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday of this week.