Northwest Regional ESD is committed to ensuring every student—particularly those who have been historically underserved or experience disability—has access to the high-quality services and support that help them learn, belong, and succeed.
Delivering on that commitment means investing in our amazing staff who make these services possible, while also making sustainable financial decisions so we can continue serving students and families over the long term.
This spring, we are engaged in bargaining processes with both our classified and licensed labor partners as part of our regular cycle of agreements. Both of the current contracts expire on June 30, 2026. These conversations are an important part of how we align compensation, working conditions, and financial sustainability in support of our overall mission.
Most of Northwest Regional ESD’s budget supports people. Salaries and benefits account for more than 85% of total expenditures in most program budgets. For example, 88% of the Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education contract supports personnel. At the same time, budget planning requires us to navigate a number of factors that can affect both revenue and costs, including enrollment trends, changes in service selection by the school districts in our region, rising health insurance costs, and legislative or policy changes that increase costs or program requirements without additional funding.
Bargaining discussions are ongoing and include a range of topics such as compensation, benefits, leave, and working conditions. As these conversations continue, we are committed to sharing accurate and timely information.
To support transparency, we have created public bargaining webpages so you can track the classified and licensed negotiations. Links to livestream sessions are available on these pages.
We will continue to update this page throughout the process so those who are interested can stay informed.
