PUYALLUP, Wash. — Teachers in Puyallup are one step closer to a new contract.
On Sunday, the Puyallup Education Association ratified its new agreement with the school district.
The district and the union had been at the bargaining table since April, trying to work out a deal.
The biggest concern many educators had for this school year was classroom size.
“We think that our students deserve better. We want our students to be able to connect with their teachers and build relationships, and we can’t do that with the class sizes we’re sitting at now,” said Melissa Ketron.
Puyallup started the new school year last week.
According to the union, more than half of 4th grade classes are packed, while junior high and high school classrooms are also growing at an alarming rate, leaving teachers swamped and some students struggling.
“In reality, to fix class size, we need two things: more educators hired, bigger schools, and we need better funding from Olympia,” Bob Horton, President of Puyallup Education Association, said.
Now that the union has ratified the contract, the school board must vote to approve it within the next week.