Yelm Community Schools first day set for Sept. 4

Yelm Community Schools has reached a tentative agreement with the Yelm Education Association, and the first day for students in the district is set for Wednesday, September 4.

YELM, Wash. - UPDATE:

As of Monday at 5:30 p.m., Yelm Community Schools has reached a tentative agreement with the Yelm Education Association.

Members of the Yelm Education Association will vote on Tuesday at 1 p.m. to ratify the agreement. If approved, the district will start school on Wednesday, September 4.

Families with students in the school district will receive an update on Tuesday afternoon.

The union says no picket lines will be in front of schools Tuesday.

"Our bargain has been about having good working conditions and student learning conditions," said Yelm Education Association Co-President Kat Cullum. "To ensure they do, we need manageable class sizes and equitable access to resources that make it possible for students to learn. We also need to be able to support our own families without falling behind. We’re so grateful to the many families, community members, union siblings and students who have supported us throughout this long process."

ORIGINAL STORY (Sept. 2 @ 4 p.m.):

First day of school for Yelm Community Schools postponed

Students in Yelm were scheduled to start the school year on Tuesday, but the district's first day is now postponed until further notice.

Parents in the Yelm Community Schools district woke up to news on Monday that the first day of school is now postponed. It stems from negotiations between the school district and the Yelm Education Association.

"Our goal was never to be this down to the wire," said Kathryn Cullum, Co-President of the Yelm Education Association, the labor group that represents 350 educators.

School was scheduled to start on Tuesday, September 3. But in a message online, Superintendent Chris Woods said the start of school is postponed until further notice.

"We have been in contract negotiations since June 21st of this school year," Cullum said.

She told FOX 13 Seattle they tried to schedule these meetings earlier, but the district wasn’t available until June 21, and then again in late July. Their contract ended on August 31.

"It is a very complex puzzle that they are working through," said Teri Melone, Communications Director for Yelm Community Schools. "Unfortunately, we were unable to do that before school started, so they are working every day, tirelessly to resolve that as quickly as they can."

"The major asks we have in this bargaining is that we have a classroom environment that is safe for our students. To do that, we need to have manageable class sizes," Cullum said.

They’re also asking for fair compensation that attracts and retains high quality educators. Recently, the district made a number of cuts after a failed levy.

"They have eliminated over 40 positions, which when you eliminate a position, those students didn’t go away, so that’s increasing the class sizes," Cullum said.

Both sides hope to come up with an agreement that gets students back in the classroom.

"We want families to know that we are fighting for their children, our working conditions are their students' learning conditions," Melone said.

"We are confident that this will be resolved and all of our staff who we value intensely and the impact they have on our kids will resume and our students and families will be back to school," Cullum said.

So, what’s next? Cullum says if a tentative agreement is not reached by tomorrow with a ratification meeting scheduled, then they could go on strike. If or when that tentative agreement is reached, they will then need to meet to ratify that agreement. The school board will also need to review and approve that agreement.