by Michael Howell
The Corvallis School District approved a contract with the Corvallis teachers union on December 10 following an extended period of negotiations that began last spring. The teachers continued working without a contract following the expiration of the 2023-2024 contract last June but did put public pressure on the board by displaying signs outside the school before classes and entering the building as a group. They also spoke openly at school board meetings in support of a wage hike, arguing that many teachers must work two jobs to get by and that higher pay would help in recruiting and retaining good teachers in the district because salaries were not competitive with other districts in the valley.
The approved contract will raise the base pay for a newly hired teacher with no experience by 1.5% from the previous starting salary of $37,326 and also includes a $610 one-time payment. At issue in the negotiations was whether or not the pay would be an increase in the Matrix Stipend or simply come in the form of a one-time payment. A Matrix Stipend is based on steps and lanes and longevity that benefits senior teachers who have been working in the District for years and rolls over into the next year while the one-time payments do not.
The previous contract for the 2023-2024 school year was contested following approval of a contract that did not include a Matrix Stipend. Immediately following the approval of that contract, the Corvallis Faculty Group filed a complaint with the Board of Personnel Appeals. A contested case hearing was held in January of 2024 to determine if the District had violated the law when it refused to execute the Collective Bargaining Agreement with a stipend included when it was included in the tentative agreement signed by both parties. Also at issue was whether the District violated the law when it removed the stipend unilaterally and then approved the contract without it.
Hearings Officer Jeffrey Doud issued a recommendation that the Board of Personnel Appeals determine the District committed an unfair labor practice and pay every qualifying CFG member the Matrix Stipend. No Notice of Exception was filed against the recommendations by the School Board and the District and every qualifying CFG member received their Matrix Stipend for 2023-2024.
The recently approved contract for the 2024-2025 school year that includes the 1.5% increase in the Matrix Stipend as well as a one-time payment of $610 will be applied retroactively.