May 11  

Today, we met with the Portland Association of Teachers' (PAT) bargaining team at the Dr. Matthew J. Prophet Education Center. Portland Public Schools brought counter proposals on five articles, and PAT brought a modification to their initial proposal on Early Childhood Educators. 

Our five proposals covered significant ground and aimed to be responsive to both our educators and school leaders. We offered expanded planning time for elementary educators, increased the Professional Growth Fund, lowered the overage threshold for counselors, and a target cap of district-mandated standardized assessments.

Dr. Renard Adams also delivered a concise accounting of the operating implications of PAT’s proposal. He made clear that, while we share the goals and values of our educators’ union, we simply do not have the funding to pay for, nor the operating capacity to support, the bulk of their proposal. Their proposal adds over 500 positions, and the articles we discussed today would – just those articles – add nearly $100 million of new costs.

You can watch the first session here and the second session here.

We meet again on May 19.

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Supporting documents

• PPS Proposals