PORTLAND, Ore. – On Feb. 5, members of the Portland Association of Teachers voted overwhelmingly to authorize the first strike in the district’s history if a new union contract isn’t in place by Feb. 20.

On Wednesday, the Portland school board voted unanimously to declare a “state of emergency,” which allows school leaders to spend money on hiring replacement teachers, according to The Oregonian.

“Portland Public Schools officials are already outlining plans to collect district property from teachers next Wednesday, and educators are packing up their rooms,” the Oregonian reports.

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It would seem as if things are going from bad to worse, but the two sides are apparently getting closer to a compromise after teacher union negotiators allegedly reduced their salary demands and offered other insurance and work rule concessions in a proposal to the district this week.

“The board will definitely recognize the movement and the change that we’ve put into this,” Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) President Gwen Sullivan told the newspaper.

District officials are expected to issue a counter proposal Sunday.

The PAT’s latest proposal calls for raises of 2.5 to 2.6 percent for three years, while the district’s most recent offer was 2 percent.

In a bargaining brief to PAT members, the union contends the proposal also offers “a concession to shorten the transfer process, a concession to adjust contract language on competence, a concession to change health insurance coverage to save the district $2 million in on-going, annual savings,” as well as “significant movement on a substantial number of issues currently in dispute.”

What isn’t clear, The Oregonian reports, is where the union currently stands on its push for the district to hire 176 teachers to reduce class sizes and workloads. The district has offered to hire about half that many.

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“Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith chose her words carefully in talking to reporters after the meeting with the union,” according to the newspaper.

“I will tell you that both teams are working really hard to get to a negotiated settlement,” she said. “And every single time we get together, it deepens our understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish together.”

The only problem is the union and the districts are trying to accomplish two different things. District officials are working to keep schools open to educate Portland students. PAT is hell-bent on holding students’ education hostage for more money and less work.

Regardless of what happens over the weekend, however, it appears Portland school leaders will be ready if teachers walk out on students next week.