Collective Bargaining Agreement
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) is the foundational document that controls wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment for certificated instructional employees in Vancouver Public Schools. Each CBA contains a duration clause that describes how long the CBA lasts; VEA and VPS typically begin “full book” negotiations for the next CBA starting in the last spring before its expiration. The duration clause also specifies if and when limited articles or subjects are opened during the life of the CBA for “reopener” or “interim” negotiations.
The current CBA lasts from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2027, and provides for reopener negotiations during spring 2026 with changes to take effect at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.
Salary Information
- 2026-2027 Base Salary, TRI, and Per Diem
- 2025-2026 Base Salary, TRI, and Per Diem
- 2024-2025 Base Salary, TRI, and Per Diem
The annual salary of a certificated instructional employee in VPS is made of three components: base salary, Time, Responsibility, and Incentive (“TRI”) Part A (Enrichment), and TRI Part B (Professional Learning Days). TRI Part A is supplemental compensation equal to 11.4% of an employee’s base salary for duties performed beyond the delivery of “basic education” to students. Typically, but not necessarily, these duties are performed outside of the standard workday. TRI Part B is supplemental compensation for attendance at three Professional Development days: two before the start of the school year, and a third day during the school year.
An employee’s “per diem” is defined as their base salary divided by 1,440 (eight hours per day times 180 days of school per year). Note that “per diem” is somewhat of a misnomer, as the rate is paid by the hour rather than by the day. The “per diem” rate is used for a variety of purposes in the contract, such as compensation when planning time is preempted by a supervisor, self-payment out of Professional Development funds for time spent undergoing professional development, etc. (Note that “per diem” is somewhat of a misnomer, as it’s a rate paid by the hour rather than by the day.)
Current salary schedules for all VPS employees can be found on the district’s website here. The district does not publish total salary, only the Base, TRI Part A, and TRI Part B separately. The documents above are produced by VEA and also show total salary.
Memoranda/Letters of Agreement/Understanding
- Currently in effect
- No longer in effect (due to expiration, no longer being relevant, etc.)
Although the parties’ goal in negotiations is for the CBA to provide ready answers to all circumstances that arise in the course of our work, in practice this is an ideal that can never be fully realized. When situations arise that require the parties to interpret or apply the CBA to a new circumstance, clarify a previous agreement, resolve an ongoing grievance in a unique way, etc., the parties may memorialize the outcome of these discussions in a Letter or Memorandum of Understanding or a Letter or Memorandum of Agreement (there is no formal difference between these various terms in the labor relations context). Usually, such memoranda deal with an individual employee’s situation and are either confidential or of little interest to other employees, but when they are of more general interest, we will share them here.
Note: per Article 1.1N of the CBA, by default all such memoranda expire at the end of the CBA during which they are implemented. The list above only shows those memoranda which are or were in effect during the lifespan of the current CBA.
