Pay – The Western Howl

Written by: Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief

During the first week of school in Sep. 2024, a heat wave of more than 100 degrees swept the town of Albany. Schools encouraged students to dress lightly and drink water instead of closing down or early for student and staff comfort as well as safety. GAEA, the Greater Albany Education Association, posted online, “Unfortunately, many of our classrooms are not equipped with air conditioning, and as of now, district leadership has not communicated a plan to address this concern … We are advocating for the district to take immediate action to ensure our students and staff can continue learning in a safe and comfortable environment.”

Since then, Albany teachers have only gotten closer to striking.

Educators demand safe, healthy classrooms, fair, competitive pay and essential healthcare benefits. Rallies have been persisting since Sep. 23 with a large turnout of supporters. They’ve also requested smaller class sizes, fair caseloads and supportive work conditions.

A vote held Oct. 29 led to 92 percent — 542 of 590 — of union members from Greater Albany Public Schools voting yes to striking Nov. 12 if demands are not met by the GAPS administration before then.

Amanda Miles, teacher at South Albany High School and Greater Albany Education Association bargaining chair as well as secretary, stated, “… I authorized a strike. I didn’t do it for myself or wanting to be paid more. I did it because the students in my school district aren’t getting what they deserve, and I’m willing to stand up and fight for what’s right for them.”

Another mediation date is set for Nov. 7, with the school district stating, “We will continue to collaborate with GAEA and hope to settle the contract as soon as possible.”

One individual took to Facebook to state that the union declared an impasse after eight months of negotiations and brought new complaints to light. “Today I listened to story after story from staff who are dealing with being bit, tables being flipped, teachers covered in bruises and people not feeling safe,” they wrote. “Teachers do not get paid enough to be injured every day … Things are not changing or we are being completely ignored.”

A bargaining update published by GAEA Nov. 2 stated, “We believe that it will cost between $400K and 600K each year to fully fund reasonable learning conditions for our students — a far cry from the $4.2 million management is claiming … After nine long months, it’s time for management to stop playing games and settle this contract NOW.”

On top of that, the bargaining update alleged multiple other miscalculations from the district.

During the mediation session Nov. 4, GAPS “took hours” to tabulate information regarding class sizes and GAEA checked the average class size to find it incorrect. “Despite these setbacks, we remain steadfast in our commitment to a fair contract that addresses these core issues,” said GAEA publicly. “Our members have made it clear that the bargaining team is to stand firm on these priorities until we secure a contract. It’s disappointing to see the amount of time management is spending trying to intimidate and coerce our members, but your resilience in the face of these tactics is inspiring.”

“Over 12 hours of mediation today, and no movement,” wrote one West Albany High School teacher on Facebook. They continued to allege that the information GAPS was publishing regarding class sizes and other data was exaggerated or incorrect. “Teachers DO NOT want to strike, but we will not back down,” they finalized.

District Superintendent Andy Gardner implored all teachers to “deeply consider the rush through these steps, and the ultimate impact of their actions on the community, families and most importantly, their students. Last year, Portland Public Schools learned that there are no winners at the end of such a process.”

Portland Public Schools went on strike for more than three weeks in November of 2023, losing 11 days of school. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek stepped in when the strike escalated to the point of vandalism and safety threats to bargain between both sides, leading to a higher-paying contract. Despite the win, it implied budget cuts and the union claimed they could no longer trust management.

The Albany school district has made attempts to reason with GAEA, adding class size caps and increased financial compensation, but has not met the demands listed by GAEA.

“Our educators do not take this step lightly,” said Dana Lovejoy, president of GAEA, in regard to the potential upcoming strike. “We do it because we are deeply committed to the students we teach and the community we serve.”

Contact the author at howleditorinchief@mail.wou.edu

The Western Howl

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Tuition increase

Written by: Hannah Field | News Editor

All seven public, four-year universities in Oregon plan to raise tuition costs from three to five percent for the 2024-2025 academic school year.

Oregon State University’s in-state and full-time students will be expected to pay $14,400 per year; University of Oregon students are expecting more than $16,100; while Portland State University students can expect a $11,800 tuition. All three universities have the highest enrollment rates in the state.

Maureen Brakke, the director of marketing and communications at Western, made a statement in a post to the Western’s home website. “The Tuition Advisory Committee, which includes students, staff, and faculty, submitted a proposed five percent tuition increase, which was accepted by President Jesse Peters and presented to the Board of Trustees on April 17,” said Brakke.

In the same post, Peters shared his sentiment: “We take pride in offering students a tailored educational experience, fostering a sense of belonging, and delivering quality support services. We have worked hard to maintain affordability without compromising the exceptional quality of education and services that define Western,” Peters said.

Western, being the second least expensive public university in Oregon out of the seven, will increase tuition to nearly five percent for resident tuition and 4.86 percent for non-resident undergraduate tuition.

Eastern Oregon University, the least expensive public four-year university, will be resting at about $1,000 less than Western, with students expected to pay approximately $11,000 for in-state, full-time enrollment tuition.

Graduate tuition will rise by five percent, with no variation regarding residency. Summer 2024 tuition rates will be increased at the same rate as the 2024-2025 academic year cost.

In 2023, tuition at Western was raised by 3.09 percent for the 2023-2024 academic school year. Pre-pandemic, the 2017-2018 school year increased tuition by 6.4 percent, with the 2018-2019 school year having a proposed 4.03 percent increase, although it has not been confirmed whether or not this increase occurred.

The 2019-2020 school year was approved for a 2.33 percent raise, equivalent to four dollars per credit, alongside the 2021-2022 school year receiving a 2.17 percent increase in tuition for resident undergraduate students.

The next academic year will leave Western at a higher tuition rate of about 18.85 percent at least since 2017 at the earliest, not including the suspected 4.03 percent increase from 2018-2019, and leaving out nonresident rates, which tend to be higher than resident tuition.

Statistics from Datausa.io reflect Western, in 2021, as having a 91.6 percent acceptance rate for incoming students but a graduation rate of less than half, at 48.3 percent. The same website lists Western’s tuition is $14,724 less than the national average overall from all Masters Colleges and Universities in the country.

Nationally, college average costs inflated nearly 12 percent annually from 2012 to 2022 according to educationdata.org.

It should be noted that the Incidental Funding Committee approved all requested base-level funding and additional funding requests at Western without raising student incidental fees. When discussing tuition rates, this excludes all fees such as health service fees, building fees, access to the recreational center, room and board costs, late payment fees and online course fees, alongside any other expenses students may be expected to pay.

“This slight tuition increase reflects our dedication to sustaining the excellence that makes us truly extraordinary,” said Peters in the latest statement — last year, when tuition increased by 3.09 percent, he said, “Our students are not just numbers; they are the future leaders of Oregon and the world, and we always look for new and innovative ways to support them.”

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu

The Western Howl

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School strike

Written by: Hannah Field | News Editor

For some — if not most — kids, dressing up on Halloween, overindulging in candy and having school canceled the next day is a dream come true. Portland students found themselves in the same situation and, at first, it was fun — until the teachers’ strike began to threaten their summer and winter breaks.

Eighty-one schools in the district have not had a school day since Nov. 1, when teachers first walked out of classrooms. Since then, it has almost been a month of no school for the Portland school district. Thanksgiving break is expected to end Nov. 27 — with school days planned to continue as usual. However, it is uncertain whether or not the Portland teachers’ demands will be met by that date — a process that includes an agreement between the Oregon school district and the union.

It is required for Oregon students to reach a certain amount of instructional time in the classroom based on grade per year. Due to the strike, students have not met that requirement, and therefore, Portland is heavily considering extending the school year into the summer until the required hours are met — as long as the other vacations in the year do not provide the proper amount of days.

Teachers had multiple reasons for rallying. As listed by the Portland Association of Teacher’s website, it is for the students as much as the teachers.

“Our students deserve more one-on-one attention from dedicated and well-qualified educators … they deserve small classroom sizes and meaningful instruction and assessment.”

On the website, they have three goals listed. In summary, they are as follows: all needs and interests for students and educators should be dutifully met, education spaces should be safe, clean, well-maintained and fully staffed and, lastly, educators need better salaries as well as teams. Staff should have training and teams who are well educated in social issues, such as forms of prejudice and bias, to better serve the student population in Portland.

The website goes as far as to publish bargaining updates as the discussion continues. The petition initiated by the Portland Association of Teachers reportedly has over 7,000 signatures — but the petition itself does not showcase the number.

The Nov. 20 bargaining update summarizes a 24-hour meeting the Portland Public Schools team and Portland Association of Teachers had discussing the agreement. A settlement was reportedly met from both sides’ bargaining teams with good benefits and proper adjustments that the PAT desired – just before the PPS bargaining team returned to inform the PAT that the PPS board rejected the settlement — the settlement agreed upon by their own team.

“To have the deal pulled after working so hard, and making tough compromises to win on our key issues, was incredibly frustrating,” said the PAT.

The post goes as far as to say that the PPS has been posting proposals that are “…out of date and out of context.”

In a different update, the PAT’s update states, “This crisis of their own making unnecessarily prolongs the strike, and demonstrates the inability of district leadership to govern Oregon’s largest school district.”

However, multiple topics of interest, presented by the PAT, were acknowledged by PPS — such as class size, parent involvement, expanded overage pay, more planning time and planning days, adjusted cost of living adjustments, added mental health staff and safer education facilities. Seventeen articles in the contract were agreed upon by both sides, but three more remain, as well as two appendices.

If both parties sign all articles, it will then be reviewed and then a comprehensive, tentative agreement would be signed. Union members would then vote to ratify the contract, validating it.

The PAT reported with hopeful spirits that big wins were secured in that discussion, and they are waiting on the PPS to consider approving the deal they laid out for them.

PPS has already made moves on cutting winter break short for Portland students — Dec. 18–22 a full school week starting two days before Christmas Eve.

Portland Public Schools Board Chair Gary Hollands’ car was struck by vandalism, with the word “SHAME” written on three sides of the vehicle in spray paint. Beyond that, leaflets and papers were stuck to the car, broadcasting messages about funding classrooms and giving students the classrooms they deserve.

The Portland Association of Teachers condemned this act and vandalism as a whole.

As tension continues to rise between both sides, it remains that over 40,000 students have been out of school since the beginning of November.

Students remain the objective of the strike according to both teams. Students may continue to be out of school until Portland Public Schools meet the demands of the Portland Association of Teachers, who have made it very clear that they will continue to gather at the picket lines until all their demands are met.

Update: Both sides have come to an agreement concluding with higher wages for teachers, soft cap sizes on classrooms and extended prep time per week. Breaks for students have been pushed back a few days for the purpose of making up the 11 lost school days.

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu

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