Board accepts licensed staff collective bargaining agreement with multi-year COLA

The Philomath SD 17J board accepted a collective bargaining agreement negotiated with its licensed staff union and presented as part of the meeting's action items.

The chair introduced the ratified agreement and told the board that the licensed-employee union (PEA) had already ratified the contract during in-service week. After noting that board members had discussed the agreement in executive session, the chair moved to accept the collective bargaining agreement.

During discussion, a board member highlighted the package's cost-of-living increases: "there's a 4 and a half percent COLA this year and a 4% COLA next year," and cautioned that such increases are intended to catch up to inflation but may be difficult to sustain long-term because they raise the base salary level for future budgets. Board members expressed appreciation for the bargaining process and for teachers and administrators involved in the negotiations.

The chair called the question and announced the motion carried; the meeting transcript records the approval but does not include a clear numerical vote tally. The board indicated the agreement would be available in the meeting packet and that PEA members expected to sign final documents by the end of the week.

What the contract includes: The transcript references multi-year cost-of-living increases (4.5% this year; 4% next year) and a mutual sense that bargaining was conducted in good faith; the transcript does not provide the full contract text or all financial line items.

Next steps: The agreement was moved and accepted on the record; final signatures and administrative follow-up (payroll adjustments, implementation) were noted as forthcoming but not detailed in the transcript.

Note: The transcript records board discussion and the motion to approve but does not include a roll-call with individual votes or a complete breakdown of fiscal impacts beyond the COLA percentages discussed.