MOSES LAKE — Negotiations continued Tuesday between the Moses Lake School District and Moses Lake Education Association, the district’s teachers union. Tuesday was the second day of the work stoppage after the parties failed to reach an agreement Sunday. 

Schools will remain closed until the strike ends, as it is a safety concern to try to operate the district without MLEA members, according to MLSD Director of Public Relations Ryan Shannon. Any days lost because of the strike will be made up at the end of the school year. The district will continue providing breakfast and lunch at elementary schools for all enrolled students.  

A handful of differences remain between the proposals put forward by the MLEA contract and the MLSD contract as of Monday’s update. In summary, there are still compromises needed on wages, professional development, meeting compensation and prep time.  

Updates on the contact can be found on the district’s website at: MLSD161.org/135123_3. According to the district’s spreadsheet, MLSD is proposing an overall estimated cost increase of about $3 million compared to the 2024-25 school year. MLEA’s counterproposal is an estimated increase of around $5.5 million compared to the last school year.

Salary  

The union’s plan calls for retroactive salary increases for the current school year and annual inflation adjustments through 2027. The district rejects retroactive pay, offering a 2.57% raise for 2025-26 and a projected 2.5% increase for 2026-27. The district’s proposal would not directly make up for the retroactive pay, but instead proposes professional development hours to make up the difference. 

If MLEA were to accept MLSD’s contract, teachers' average hourly rates would increase from $77.31 in 2024-25 to $80.01 in 2025-26. Another cost-of-living increase would be included in 2026-27 to $82.01. MLEA did not include the cost of salary changes in its proposal.  

The district expressed concerns about returning to a situation wherein expenses outstripped revenues. 

“It is also important to recognize the financial constraints the District continues to navigate following the reduced levy revenue in 2024-25, which will also affect the 2025-26 fiscal year,” reads MLSD’s Dec. 1 contract proposal. “Committing the District to compensation costs beyond budgeted revenue would be fiscally irresponsible and could recreate significant financial challenges.” 

Professional development  

Professional development is another sticking point.  

MLEA is requesting 32 paid hours of training each year in its proposal. MLSD’s offer includes 21 hours in the 2025-26 school year and 14 the year after, with additional unpaid training opportunities. During the 2022-23 school year, teachers received 38 hours of training.  

The seven hours above the district’s 14 baseline this year are intended to help cover the retroactive salary increases the union is asking for, according to the MLSD proposal. Then, the following year, professional development will return to the 14 hours, with teachers getting a full cost-of-living adjustment.  

The Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction recommends 15 hours of professional development annually. 

“Professional development is a big thing; we are trying to figure out how that is going to all work out,” MLEA President Heather Whittall said. “If cuts happen, it overall devalues the contract and the employee, as an educator, and not only as a compensation piece but also a training piece.”  

MLEA’s contract offer states that if an employee doesn’t participate in the professional development day, the time will not be paid. However, MLSD’s contract says that if an employee doesn’t participate, time will be reduced on the supplemental contract accordingly.  

Meeting compensation  

Both sides agree on a 7.5-hour workday but differ in compensation for time spent in meetings. The union contract would pay teachers for attending more than two meetings a week outside normal hours, whereas the district’s contract proposal sets the threshold at three meetings. It would compensate employees at a per diem rate for any meetings that exceed the threshold.  

The district has proposed that 45 minutes per week shall be allowed for meetings outside of the student day. However, the union has countered at 30 minutes.  

Prep time 

The two entities have agreed on 210 minutes of prep time per week for elementary teachers, including one 30-minute block each day. This is the time teachers use to prepare for classes and plan ahead. 

MLEA states in its proposal that, if this package is accepted, it retains the right to pursue a separate grievance for the “district’s failure to provide elementary teachers with planning during the student day during the 2025-26 school year and failure to provide compensation for all lost planning periods.” 

Several teachers said that their prep time was moved to the beginning of the school day, prior to students arriving.  

Kylee Strzelczyk and Lana Redal, both teachers at Larson Heights Elementary, said all of the teachers rush in the morning, trying to get copies prepared for classes. The prep periods had been staggered throughout the school day and during times when students received music, physical education or library time.  

“We don’t have time to do what we need to do,” Strzelczyk said. “We are all scrambling in the morning, and we don’t get any other time throughout the workday to prepare learning materials for students.” 

    Superintendent Carol Lewis has reiterated several times the district will not spend money it does not have. The district’s contract proposal is around $2.5 million cheaper than the contract proposed by MLEA. This still includes a nearly $3 million increase from the previous school year.