MOUNT VERNON, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Contract negotiations have cancelled the first day of school in Mount Vernon – twice.
The Mount Vernon School District issued a statement on Tuesday, Aug. 27, saying that they made the “difficult decision” to postpone the start of the school year, which was set to begin on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Union members spent the day picketing outside of the district office.
Later on Wednesday, District Superintendent Dr. Victor Vergara announced that students won’t be going back to school until Friday.
PSE SEIU Local 1948, which represents the district’s paraeducators, have been in negotiations with the district over a new contract since April. The union told the school board on August 22 that they were prepared to strike if an agreement wasn’t reached.
Documents posted by the school district detail the ongoing efforts between the paraeducators’ union and the district to come to a tentative contract agreement. It includes a main point of dispute over a salary increase schedule, which the union is asking for a nearly 6% increase in the contract’s first year. District officials countered that demand with data showing paraeducators have received a 38.5% salary increase since 2018.
