Dozens of parents, classified staff and union leaders told the Evergreen Public Schools Board of Directors on Wednesday that stalled contract talks with the district's classified employee bargaining unit have forced a four‑day strike and put students and staff at risk. Speakers urged the board to direct negotiators to return to the table and reach a settlement.

The comments came during the board's public‑comment period and focused on pay and working conditions for paraeducators, bus drivers, nurses and other classified staff. Melinda Troffer Cooper, PSC president, said the district's approach to negotiations has been abusive: "This is not bargaining. This is bullying." Amy Prentice, a parent and volunteer, said understaffing and underpaying paraeducators "puts the physical and mental safety of our employees and our students at risk every day."

Speakers described bargaining that they said began in March, accused the district of declining multiple meeting requests and said the district had offered certain administrative or nonstudent‑facing staff raises or extra days of paid work while resisting wage increases for student‑facing positions. Several commenters said administrators who served on bargaining teams received one‑time bonuses after earlier strikes, a practice they criticized as unfair and fiscally inconsistent with cuts to student‑facing programs.

Supporters of classified staff also described operational problems that they say stem from low pay: a school nurse said the district's 18 nurses rely heavily on PSC procedure nurses who travel between schools and "keep our students alive;" a bus driver told the board that required pre‑ and post‑trip duties are effectively unpaid because clocking practices start when drivers pull out of and return to the stall. Multiple speakers said low pay forces employees to hold multiple jobs or to leave the district.

Several speakers questioned recent board actions. Camille Lohmann and others criticized the board for adopting a resolution (referred to by speakers as resolution 7077) in executive session and then voting on it without public discussion; they contrasted that to an earlier, similarly numbered resolution (6091) that was discussed in public in 2018. Those speakers said the resolution accused striking staff of causing "irreparable harm" to students, which they disputed and said was insulting to families and staff who have previously weathered strikes.

Superintendent Dr. Maloney responded during her superintendent's report that the district wants to keep negotiating and "definitely do wanna keep bargaining and have people back to work so our students can go to school on September 2." She said the district published a frequently asked questions document and a bargaining webpage and asked the community to remain engaged "with respect." The superintendent framed the situation as a balance between honoring staff and protecting the district's long‑term financial stability.

Discussion only: the public comments documented concerns, allegations and personal accounts; they did not constitute formal bargaining actions. Direction: board members repeatedly asked administration to continue negotiations in good faith. Formal action: the transcript includes references by public speakers to a board resolution (7077) adopted in executive session; the text of that resolution and the board's vote on it were not read into the public record during the public‑comment period.

What happens next: the superintendent asked negotiators to continue bargaining; parents and union activists said they will maintain picket lines and public pressure until the district makes more substantial offers. The board did not announce a new public meeting date for bargaining updates at the meeting's close.

Ending: speakers closed by urging the board to weigh the district's priorities in the budget and to treat student‑facing employees as central to school operations rather than discretionary line items.