Moses Lake School District, teachers union reach tentative agreement
The Moses Lake Education Association announced late Friday night that the union had reached a tentative agreement with the Moses Lake School District.
FILE PHOTO
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Education Association announced late Friday night that the union has reached a tentative agreement with the Moses Lake School District. Classes will resume Monday, according to a press release from the MLEA.
“Moses Lake EA members are happy to be heading back to their classrooms and work sites and to be reunited with their students instead of walking a picket line,” said the MLEA press release.
The contract must be ratified by MLEA members and the Moses Lake School Board before it goes into effect. The press release did not specify when the union would vote.
“We appreciate everyone’s fortitude and patience as our bargaining teams worked to get a tentative agreement,” said MLEA President Heather Whittall in the press release.
Whittall also expressed gratitude for the support she said MLEA members had received from the community.
The school district and the MLEA have been negotiating a contract since June, after a one-year contract expired. The negotiations stalled over issues of salary, teacher training opportunities and prep time. The two sides brought in a mediator in November.
The MLEA announced Nov. 26 that they would strike if agreement wasn’t reached by Nov. 30, and teachers went on strike Dec. 1.
The district offered a “supposal” Thursday afternoon and announced in a press release Friday afternoon that the two sides were negotiating. Ryan Shannon, MLSD director of public relations, said Friday that a supposal is not a formal proposal, but is designed to get the two sides talking.
“It’s a good faith concept for discussion,” Shannon said.