Albany teachers authorize first strike since 1987, district accused of violating programs
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – It’s official: 600 Albany Public School teachers have authorized their first strike since 1987.
Picketing is set to begin Nov. 12 after teachers claim the district had violated programs intended to fill the gaps for students with support needs. They say the district is denying students with learning differences the rights they're entitled to.
“The District has failed to make meaningful movement to raise standards for students in urgently overcrowded schools with woefully inadequate support,” the Greater Albany Education Association said Tuesday.
The teacher’s union said it has been in negotiations with the district for nine months, working without a contract for four of those.
In response, Greater Albany public schools released the following statement.
The District is aware of the strike vote conducted by the GAEA this evening. We are disappointed in the continued push towards the closure of schools and its impact on our students, families and the entire Albany community. At the last mediation session on October 25th, the District and GAEA bargaining teams were able to come to an agreement on managing student behavior, which the District understood to be a high priority. GAPS is committed to continuing to work with GAEA to avoid a strike and wants to stress that it holds the teachers in the district in high regard. As we learned last year in Portland, a strike produces no winners.
GASD also shared a contingency plan, as outlined in the document below.
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