The Eugene School District 4J Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve a proposed contract with the Eugene Education Association teacher’s union during Wednesday evening’s board meeting.
Brooke Wagner, assistant superintendent of administrative services who was a part of 4J’s bargaining team, presented the contract to the board and put forth the district’s recommendation to approve.
“I really am proud of the work that both teams came together to focus on students, and I really feel that the recommendation is worth passing,” Wagner said to the board. “This is going to really help our district’s ability to retain high-quality staff and hire higher high-quality staff as we move into our next two and a half years of this three-year agreement.”
The union said the “historic” contract is the culmination of eight months of efforts and 15 bargaining sessions. It includes a 5% annual cost-of-living raise for the next three years, increased health insurance coverage, additional planning time allotments, commitment to address environmental health and safety issues, and extra pay for licensed staff filling vacant positions.