Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Relations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Teachers’ union tells board school staff are ‘being assaulted daily,’ urges contract changes
Summary
The North Clackamas Education Association presented bargaining survey results saying 94% of staff listed safe working and learning conditions as a top issue and shared multiple first-person reports of assaults and injuries; union leaders asked the board to support contract language ensuring administrative accountability.
The North Clackamas Education Association (NCEA) told the board on June 4 that staff safety is a top bargaining priority and presented survey results and first-person accounts describing a deteriorating safety environment in multiple district schools.
NCEA President Michelle Arco and Vice President Kelsey Wilson said a recent bargaining survey showed 94% of staff considered safe working and learning conditions a top issue. Wilson read multiple narrative responses collected from educators across 19 schools, including reports of students inflicting physical harm on staff, repeated incidents without consistent administrative response, and instances of staff suffering injuries.
"Teachers and students are being assaulted daily, and the district is minimizing the impacts it’s having in the classroom," Wilson said, reading the survey narratives. Arco said these accounts represent a broad pattern, not outlier incidents, and urged the board to support contract language requiring mandatory documentation, collaborative review, and enforcement of safety supports.
Why it matters: The union framed safety as essential to instruction and staff retention, saying that without consistent systems and accountability classrooms and students cannot learn effectively.
Union claims and examples - The union presented multiple staff narratives alleging physical assaults (bruises, bites, concussions), ongoing incidents that were not adequately addressed, and inconsistent district application of safety protocols. - One survey response read by Wilson: "Student violent acts are traumatizing students. Black eyes, large bruises, bite marks, and broken materials should not be the norm in school." - The union asked for contract language to "force consistent administrative accountability," saying current practices sometimes amount to "gaslighting by the district."
District response and next steps The presenters said their purpose was not to advocate exclusion but to press for inclusion done safely, with appropriate staffing and supports. The board acknowledged the presentation; no immediate policy action or vote on the floor followed. Bargaining on safety-related language is ongoing between the district and the NCEA.
Sources: Statements and survey excerpts read by Michelle Arco (NCEA president) and Kelsey Wilson (NCEA vice president) during the June 4 meeting.
