MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Bargainers have imposed a news blackout in talks to end a teacher strike that began two weeks ago in Southern Oregon’s largest school district.
“We’ve come to an agreement that we will provide both parties space to be able to resolve this,” Medford Superintendent Phil Long said Wednesday afternoon.
Teachers walked out Feb. 6, and the schools reopened on half-day schedules last week with substitute teachers and security guards. The district has 600 union teachers.
Attendance waned in the first days of the walkout. On Wednesday, district figures showed most elementary schools reporting percentages in the 40s and 50s.
Attendance was below 40 percent at the high schools, dipping to 24 percent at Central Medford High School, and students in the upper grades planned to walk picket lines with teachers.
The two sides are divided over pay and health insurance benefits, the size of early retirement benefits and the length of the contract. Bargainers said Wednesday that most of the talks are being conducted through a mediator.
The district is preparing to resume classes if the two sides settle and might have to stretch the school year, the Medford Mail Tribune (https://bit.ly/MeuGuj) reported.
Todd Bloomquist, director of secondary education, said a notice with information about post-strike school arrangements has been drafted and will be released as soon as an agreement can be reached.
The half days count toward state requirements for instructional hours, he said.
“At this point, the district feels confident that it will meet the state requirements,” Bloomquist said. “After this week, we will need to look at whether we will need to make adjustments to the calendar.”
The district has 13,500 students, making it the eighth largest in Oregon.
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Information from: Mail Tribune, https://www.mailtribune.com/
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