QuickTake:

The agreement comes shortly after the school board voted to enact midyear layoffs. Also, Eugene School District 4J and Bethel School District recently approved new union contracts.

After 10 months of bargaining, Springfield Public Schools and its teachers union, the Springfield Education Association, have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. 

The contract is two years in length, does not include a district-proposed increase in contract hours and includes retroactive pay from July 1, 2025, under new salary levels according to union leadership.

Union president Jonathan Gault and bargaining chair Maria Sayre-Heiss did not provide more details on the contract, citing the union’s desire to share information with its members on Feb. 4, ratification day. Sayre-Heiss said she was glad the process was over and hopes members will be happy with the contract.

Gault had mixed feelings about the outcome.

“We don’t have any rollbacks,” he said, referring to when an employer sets a lower standard than a previous contract. “But we didn’t get things that were just absolutely reasonable,” adding the district wouldn’t budge on nonfinancial union proposals “out of pride.”

Springfield Public Schools did not respond to Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s request for comment.

Gault said reaching a tentative agreement comes in the shadow of the recent midyear layoffs of 27 teachers, which the school board approved due to the cost of the pending union contract. Gault primarily blames the district, because he thinks district leaders preparing the budget should have known the union would propose a pay increase.

District finance director Brett Yancey, however, pinned the blame on the school board in the Jan. 12 meeting for voting on a budget last spring that did not include a cost-of-living increase for teachers.

According to the school budget process, district leaders prepare the proposed budget and the budget committee and school board vote to approve and adopt the budget.

The Springfield Board of Education voted to approve district officials’ 2025-26 proposed budget in June, which included no cost of living adjustment for staff. Yancey was clear with board members during budgeting that staffing cuts would be necessary with any pay increase in the new contract.

Amber Langworthy, who voted against the cuts, said district administrators did not detail how cuts would happen.

“The dark cloud of the layoffs, it’s still there,” Gault said. “It feels a little like a letdown.”

Audience members listen as representatives from the Springfield Public Schools and the Springfield Education Association union meet during a bargaining session in Springfield, Aug. 3, 2025. Credit: Isaac Wasserman / Lookout Eugene-Springfield / Catchlight / RFA

How Bethel budgeted while bargaining

The Bethel School Board approved a new contract with its teachers union Jan. 7. The contract included a 13.5% pay increase and a 9% increase in insurance contributions over three years.

“We have really strong relationships with (Eugene Education Association) and our educators across the districts, and we have a lot of trust and goodwill,” Superintendent Kraig Sproles said during the Jan. 7 board meeting.

In an interview with Lookout Eugene-Springfield, Sproles said when the district and board were budgeting for 2025-26, they planned for a 4% pay increase, a “rollover” from the previous contract’s language.

This caused them to hire fewer staff in the fall, but Sproles said the pay increase was justified to keep up with inflationary pressures, give teachers a fair wage and maintain Bethel’s competitiveness in staff recruitment. He said he would be surprised if the district rolls forward the 4.5% increase next time, however.

“The age of us having these 5%, 6% (cost-of-living) increases a year is just not sustainable,” Sproles said.

Sproles also said the 2025 bargaining process was especially drawn out due to an increase in language changes and the difficulty of scheduling a mediator. He said he hopes to wrap up bargaining sooner next time. This would give teachers starting in the district in the fall a realistic picture of their salaries, he said, and help the district budget responsibly.

Bethel School District teachers hold signs in front of Shasta Middle School on Sept. 24 before a school board meeting. Eugene Education Association, the district’s teachers union, as it was working toward a new agreement on a new contract. Credit: Lilly St. Angelo / Lookout Eugene-Springfield

4J approves contract for classified staff

The Eugene School District 4J School Board approved a contract Jan. 21 with its classified staff union, Oregon School Employees Association Eugene Chapter 1.

The contract will offer a 15% pay increase over three years for classified staff, which include cafeteria workers, bus drivers, secretaries and educational assistants, among others. It also includes a 9.8% increase in insurance contributions over the three years. In the press release about the contract approval, the district stated the cost of the contract falls within its budgeting for 2026-27 and does not increase the $30 million shortfall the district is facing.

Lisa Jenkins-Easton, president of the classified staff union, was especially proud of a new contract article on workplace safety.

“Our new Workplace Safety and Safe Learning Environment contract article is an important step forward for classified staff statewide,” Jenkins-Easton said in a statement.

Superintendent Miriam Mickelson expressed appreciation for the district’s classified staff and the union and district’s shared commitment to stability, fairness and respect.

Lilly is a graduate of Indiana University and has worked at the Indianapolis Star and in Burlington, Vermont, as well as working as a foreign language teacher in France. She covers education and children's issues for Lookout Eugene-Springfield.