Key Takeaways
- The Centennial Education Association (CEA) is a union that represents over 300 educators working in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 public schools in the Centennial School District. CEA’s membership includes licensed teachers and specialists, classified/education support professionals (ESPs), and retired educators. Learn more here. CEA members are proud to also belong to the 42,000 member statewide Oregon Education Association (OEA), and the 3.2 million members of the National Education Association (NEA).
On Monday, Nov. 17, the Centennial Education Association (CEA) formally requested state mediation after the Centennial School District (CSD) refused to make meaningful movement on two of the most urgent issues facing educators and students: class size and reasonable workload protections.
After more than nine months of bargaining, the District has continued to reject proposals that would reduce unmanageable class sizes and caseloads or set any meaningful guardrails around educator workload. These issues have been repeatedly identified by educators, families, and community members as critical to improving student learning conditions, safety, and long-term retention of high-quality staff.
Additionally, even with CSD funding carryovers higher than 11 of the 14 largest Metro-area districts, and administrator salaries guaranteed above-average salaries in the Metro-area, Centennial teacher salaries have fallen from 8th-highest to 12th of 14 in just the last five years.
“We came to the table with solutions. The District came with delays and excuses. Our educators are doing everything they can for students, but without class size and caseload limits or reasonable workload protections, we cannot give kids the attention they deserve. Centennial sits on one of the largest funding carryover funds in the Metro area while classrooms struggle to get the support students deserve. They keep their own salaries competitive by paying their staff less. And they close their eyes to millions of dollars we show them in their own documents.”
— Drew Rosa, President, CEA
The District offered only a 0.25% increase to their COLA proposal, while refusing to make progress on class-size language or workload protections. These proposals focus on setting responsible limits—not adding new staffing—and would help stabilize classrooms without creating new ongoing costs for the District. This is especially disappointing given that Centennial currently ranks 12th out of the Metro 14 districts in overall compensation.
CEA members have consistently voiced that they need fair compensation that makes up for the sacrifices of the previous contract and class size limits that create safe, stable classrooms.
Centennial educators remain committed to reaching an agreement that strengthens teaching and learning conditions for every student in the district. Mediation represents the next step in that effort.
“Our goal is to build strong community schools—where public education is transparent, stable, and truly serves our families. To do that, we need stable staffing and manageable class sizes. With over half of our students learning English and one of the highest free-and-reduced lunch rates in the region, our community deserves the best support we can give them. That’s why we’re calling on the District to make the changes our students deserve.”
