Forest Grove board approves three‑year contract with teachers' union

The Forest Grove School District Board of Directors approved a three‑year contract with the Forest Grove Education Association (FGEA) on Sept. 23, 2025, formalizing pay, benefits and workplace provisions for licensed educators for the 2025–26 through 2027–28 school years.

District negotiators and the union bargaining team told the board the agreement was reached after months of meetings and is intended to provide budget stability and competitive compensation amid statewide funding uncertainty. Serena Fitz, bargaining chair for the FGEA, said the teams began meeting in mid‑February and finished in June so the district could implement the agreement at the start of the school year: “we began meeting in February mid February, and we were thankfully able to finish, at the June, which is great so that we can start this year, with our new contract.”

Sarah Hamlin, the district’s director of human resources, said the contract covers roughly 95% of licensed staff who are union members and includes a mix of salary increases, benefit protections and targeted stipends. “I will share with you that 95 of our our licensed educators are members of the Forest Grove Education Association,” Hamlin told the board.

Highlights presented to the board included: - A three‑year term intended to give both the district and employees multi‑year budgeting certainty in light of possible changes to state funding; - Compensation increases and a benefits package designed to limit premium contributions by staff; - Stipends for bilingual educators who pass a recognized proficiency assessment (STAMP) and for other specialized duties; - Contract language addressing workload and planning time, including a clarified elementary prep minimum (presenters described at least 30 minutes of prep on student contact days); - Revisions to the extra‑duty pay schedule, with several arts and music positions moved to higher pay tiers; and - A framework for addressing class size and caseload concerns via a joint committee and a menu of possible supports rather than hard numeric caps in the contract.

Both sides described the bargaining process as collaborative. Serena Fitz said the agreement incorporated an equity lens and reflected member priorities gathered through surveys and internal discussions. District staff said administrators have already begun briefing building leaders about contract updates to accelerate implementation.

The board moved to approve the agreement and took a roll‑call vote; the motion carried and the contract was adopted. Board members said they appreciated the collaborative tone of bargaining and noted the contract is intended to help the district recruit and retain educators.

The agreement will be posted with district contract records and the district will bring class‑size and caseload information to the board later this fall as enrollment stabilizes.