Negotiations Supporting Teachers Stall Between PGCEA, PGCPS After Recent Rally

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — The Prince George’s County Educators’ Association shared that its negotiations with the school district have "reached an impasse" after the administration "failed to address the crushing workloads and lack of competitive compensation needed to recruit new teachers and fill the hundreds of vacancies in Maryland’s second largest school district."

Talks stalled after a rally last Thursday where educators teamed up with students, parents, elected officials and community allies to convince the county school board to fund plans for increased academic performance.

“We are all-in for our students, but most educators like myself, we’ve got two or three jobs just so we can make our basic ends meet," PGCPS school counselor Donna Yearwood said. “We cannot as educators, as teachers, as counselors continue at this pace we are going at. We cannot do it and the school district needs to step up."

The union's platform focuses on ensuring better student outcomes, which includes reducing heavy workloads and making sure children and educators have access to a healthy and safe learning environment, as well as fair compensation for highly trained educators.

“There is a crisis in our classrooms,” PGCEA President Donna Christy told the school board. “When a class does not have a teacher, they might get a long-term sub. But more often a patchwork of other educators cover that class or the class is divided and added into other classes, increasing class sizes. None of that lends itself to moving the needle on academic success.”

At Thursday’s rally, Delegate Alonzo Washington, former Congresswoman Donna Edwards, and school board candidates Branndon Johnson and Dannine Johnson all joined members of the Prince George’s County Educators Association to let their voices be heard.

“We’re asking more of educators and we’re giving them less to do it. We’re not rewarding them in the same way as our competitor jurisdictions," former U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards said.

PGCEA has been calling on the school district to recruit and retain more educators by tapping funds outlined in the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, legislation passed in 2021 to raise pay and standards across the state. There are an estimated 800 vacancies in the district this year alone, leading to classroom overcrowding and teacher burnout.

Earlier this year, the Prince George’s County Educators Association released a package of proposals and priorities related to the next labor agreement that will be signed between its members and Prince George’s County Public Schools. The agreement will cover more than 10,000 educators who work in the Prince George’s County school system. The educators have been advancing key safety and equity issues and to advocate for the needs of their more than 135,000 students post pandemic and beyond.