Dozens of parents, classified staff and union officials spoke at the Evergreen School District Board of Directors meeting on Aug. 26 to press the board and district negotiators for a new contract after months of bargaining and a four‑day strike that delayed the start of school.

The speakers said the district’s bargaining team, led by the chief operations officer, has failed to bargain in good faith and has favored administrative raises and bonuses over pay for student‑facing staff. “This is not bargaining. This is bullying,” said Melinda Troffer Cooper, PSC president, during public comment.

Why it matters: paraeducators, nurses, bus drivers and other classified staff provide day‑to‑day support for students with the highest needs. Speakers said understaffing and low pay force staff to work off the clock, take second jobs or leave, disrupting special education services, classroom stability and student safety.

Several speakers gave specific examples they said illustrated the problem. Heather Rice, a school nurse, said procedure nurses “keep our students alive” by administering insulin, catheterizations and tube feedings and asked the board to “direct your bargaining team to agree to a fair contract for the entire PSC group.” James Watson Hughes, a bus driver, described unpaid mandatory training and daily pre‑ and post‑trip work that was not being counted toward pay and said paras sometimes face the choice of working off the clock or putting students at risk.

Multiple speakers cited district compensation decisions. Anna Maguilera and others alleged that district leaders gave administrative staff raises and one‑time bargaining bonuses after the 2023 bargaining cycle, including a claim that bargaining bonuses totaled $31,000 in 2023 and that a lead bargainer received roughly $14,000. Several commenters said the district recently offered a 2.5% raise to ASC staff while asking paraeducators to accept smaller increases.

Statewide union support: Heather Christensen, state president for Public School Employees—SEIU Local 1948, said, “A budget is not just numbers on a page. It is a moral document,” and urged the board to show that values by funding living wages for education support professionals.

Community perspective: Parents and teachers described concrete classroom impacts they attribute to understaffing and turnover: interrupted instruction, cancelled programs, and students who escalate because consistent support staff are not available. Several speakers referenced earlier strikes in 2018 and 2023 and said the board’s recent resolution describing a strike as causing “irreparable injury” to students was inaccurate and insulting to those who support striking staff.

District response: Superintendent Dr. Maloney acknowledged the comments and said the district wants to continue bargaining. “We definitely do wanna keep bargaining and have people back to work so our students can go to school on September 2,” Maloney said, adding that the district must balance honoring staff with protecting long‑term financial stability.

Discussion vs. action: The meeting record shows extensive public comment and questions to the board and superintendent, but no formal bargaining settlement or board vote on labor terms occurred at the Aug. 26 meeting. Speakers requested that the board and bargaining team meet daily until a resolution is reached; that direction was described in public comment but not recorded as a formal board action during this meeting.

What was not specified: commenters cited several dollar figures and operational claims (legal fees totaling about $500,000 over six months, bargaining bonuses in 2023 totaling $31,000, and individual pay rates such as $21.10 per hour for a referenced position). The district’s budget presentation and bargaining webpage were referenced but the board did not adopt any contract terms or specific monetary commitments at the meeting.

Next steps: The board took no public vote on bargaining terms at the Aug. 26 meeting. Speakers urged faster bargaining and use of district reserves to buffer costs; the superintendent and board members encouraged continued respectful engagement as negotiations proceed.