MOSES LAKE — Talks dragged on in the 5th day of the MLSD teacher strike, with the district offering what it described as a potential path forward — at least briefly.
The district said in a press release that it had sent a “supposal” to Moses Lake Education Association leadership through a neutral mediator. A supposal is not a full proposal but an exploratory concept intended to gauge the other party’s position.
According to the district, the supposal included “a full restoration of all provisions from the 2022–2025 contract that had been requested by the Association. This includes equitable distribution of all state funding received by the district intended to offset inflation and rising costs in employee wages each year.” District spokesman Ryan Shannon said the ideas would be retroactive to the expiration of the previous contract.
Superintendent Carol Lewis said the supposal represents “a full restoration of all provisions from the 2022–2025 contract that had been requested by the Association.”
While the district framed the move as progress, a later social media post from the Moses Lake Teachers’ Association (MLEA) struck a different tone. The post, shared Friday on Facebook, read in part, “district leadership and Superintendent Carol Lewis need to stop focusing on messaging filled with misrepresentations and more on presenting serious proposals at the bargaining table that demonstrate they care about and are prioritizing Moses Lake students and educators.” The post did not say what was purportedly misrepresented in the district’s communications.
MLEA President Heather Whittall told Columbia Basin News earlier this week that “we aren’t asking for anything more than the current contract language.”
As of publication, the MLEA has not responded to a request for comment. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
