UPDATED Parkrose Strike Plan as of April 19, 2012
19 Apr
Received from the school district 4/19/12, 4:49 p.m.
* **UPDATED
April 19, 2012
*
Dear Parkrose Parents, Guardians and Community,
As you may already know, the Parkrose Faculty Association notified the District that they would be conducting a strike starting on April 25th. In an effort to communicate with the parents, guardians and community of the Parkrose School District, we are sending you both an email and a letter in the mail regarding our Tentative Strike Plan for the students of the Parkrose School District.
The District and PFA have been bargaining for almost a year for many hours. On April 16, 2012 we met for another 14 hours in our fifth mediation session. While the parties seemed to agree on a majority of the workload issues, the sticking point continues to be salary and benefits. We will be having our 6th state mediated session today, April 19th at 6:00 pm to try to settle this contract in order to avoid the unfortunate occurrence of a strike. Tuesday, the Board voted unanimously to implement the final offer presented to the Association which, we also sent to you in an email last week. A full copy of the final offer is located on the District home page. We are trying hard to give you all current information so we can keep everyone informed. Our desire is to settle the contract but it takes both sides for this to occur. We are hopeful each and every time we meet that this will be accomplished and we are confident that we will get there. We also know that a strike is bad for everyone and can damage school districts and communities for many, many years to come.
Below is the Tentative Strike Plan. I need everyone to know that it may change and it will certainly be more detailed with time. Locations are to be determined. Hopefully, we will never need it.
*Week One*: April 25, 26 and 27: No students. Scheduled varsity sports only.
*Week Two*: April 30-May 4: Day Care provided for students K-5, and varsity sports. Middle school and high school students will have breakfast, lunch and dinner snack available at the high school.
*Week Three*: May 7-May 11: Regular school for grades K-2, and high school seniors. Day care continues for grades 3-5, special education all grades, and varsity sports. Middle school and high school students will have breakfast, lunch and dinner snack available at the high school.
*Week Four:* Full school all grades, all students.
We are in the process of lining up qualified substitutes and working out about a million details which will continue to flow to you mostly through email. We are sending this message to the school secretaries who will forward it to all parents. We will continue to do that. At times, we will also be mailing information home through the post office to get the best communication coverage.
I know that this tentative plan doesn’t answer everything but I wanted to share with you just what we have done so far. I know that this communication may raise more questions than answers. Please send your questions to us and we will do the best that we can to answer them. Just a final note, that strike days are NOT furlough days. Furloughs will be different days. During strike days, all other staff are required to be at work.
We will continue to keep you informed.
The hope of the Parkrose School District is that this is one plan we will never have to implement.
Sincerely,
Dr. Karen Fischer Gray
Superintendent
