The District sought to terminate a long-time and successful special education teacher for paperwork errors. The Association argued that termination was too severe a penalty for problems that were the natural consequence of severe underfunding. After Attorney Margaret Olney provided the District with information from other educators about the District’s inconsistent policies and the prevalence […]
Tag: Margaret Olney
School District Ordered to Compensate Teachers for Increased Student Contact Time
This is a case dating back to 2007 in which the Association challenged the District’s unilateral decision to increase student contact time by approximately 30 minutes per day, when it adopted a new trimester schedule. The Association argued that the District was required to bargain over the decision; the District claimed that the increase in […]
Portland High School Teachers Awarded over $3.0 Million for District’s Unreasonable Increase in Teacher Workload
Attorney Margaret Olney ensured that Portland Public School District would not be able to unilaterally increase high school teacher workloads without paying a penalty. The District unilaterally changed their workload from one based on a “5 of 7” schedule. The contract between the Portland Association of Teachers and the District required the District to maintain […]
Ban of Paid Signatures Upheld
Margaret Olney helped draft Measure 26, a ballot measure that bans the practice of paying per signature for initiative and referendum petitions. After it was approved by the voters, Margaret represented Chief Petitioners (as Intervenors) in a lawsuit by opponents claiming the measure unconstitutionally chilled political speech. The U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit […]
Fraudulent Signatures for Nader Identified
Margaret led the effort to identify fraudulent signatures and invalid sheets on nominating petition to place Ralph Nader on Oregon ballot. She then helped defend the Secretary of State’s decision to not qualify Nader for ballot.