Yelm Community Schools (YCS) and the Yelm Education Association (YEA) reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement Monday, Sept. 2, YCS Superintendent Chris Woods announced in an email to families and staff. YEA members are set to vote on Tuesday, Sept. 3 to ratify the agreement.
YEA will host a general membership meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Yelm High School Performing Arts Center. YCS will send a message to families Tuesday afternoon once ratification is confirmed. If the vote is approved, the first day of school for first through 12th grades will be Wednesday, Sept. 4 and Monday, Sept. 9 for kindergarten.
In a Facebook post, YEA thanked the community for its support since negotiations began in June. YEA’s bargaining team met after 1 a.m. each of the last two days in an attempt to reach an agreement.
“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your overwhelming support. Your show of solidarity made all the difference for our team,” YEA wrote.
Kathryn Cullum, YEA co-president, also expressed her gratitude to the supporters in a news release.
"We're so grateful to the many families, community members, union siblings and students who have supported us throughout this long process," she said.
The district announced Monday morning that the first day of school would be postponed “until further notice” as negotiations continued into the afternoon. Members of YEA had overwhelmingly voted Tuesday, Aug. 27 to authorize a strike if a tentative agreement was not reached before the first day of school, and they even began preparing signs Monday afternoon in case an agreement did not come.
YHS teacher and head football coach Jason Ronquillo and his staff announced the news to the team moments after practice, and the student athletes erupted with joy upon hearing the announcement. The Tornados football team will kick off their season with a home game at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 5 against Mount Tahoma High School.
