9/8 Update: The Seattle Education Association's members voted to approve the educator contract, according to a press release from Seattle Public Schools.
9/1 Update: In the tentative agreement, teachers will receive a 10.5% pay raise.
KIRO 7's Deedee Sun talked with some teachers who wonder if more could've been done at the negotiating table to bring them closer to the raises some neighboring districts are seeing.
In a statement on its website, the Seattle School District said, "Our bargaining team has worked hard to provide the best compensation package we can possibly afford while maintaining critical services and programs for students."
While the strike if off now, teachers and staff will have to vote to approve this tentative contract next weekend. If they don't vote to accept the new one-year contract, a strike could still happen.
8/31 Update: Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association reached a tentative contract agreement Friday night.
We're excited to share that SEA & SPS have reached a tentative agreement. School will begin Wed, Sep 5 for students grade 1-12 & Mon, Sep 10 for kindergartners. SEA's general assembly will vote on the proposed contract on Sat, Sep 8.
— Seattle Public Schools (@SeaPubSchools) September 1, 2018
Read full update: https://t.co/7MZlmzxz4h pic.twitter.com/m0jFNW9aEA
8/28 Update: Seattle teachers voted Tuesday night to authorize a strike, which would start on September 5 unless a deal is reached.
Original Text: Boxes of red strike signs arrived at the Seattle Education Association building Tuesday afternoon.
After months of bargaining, Seattle teachers said they're not standing down. Thousands gathered at Benaroya Hall to vote on a strike authorization.
If a deal isn’t reached by Labor Day, many teachers in the district plan to go on strike Sept. 5, the scheduled first day of school.
Scroll down to continue reading
More news from KIRO 7
- Unexploded ordnance floating near Brownsville Marina
- Seattle boy killed, 3 other boys injured in suspected DUI crash
- Official: Assume West Nile virus infection possible in Pierce County
- No charges for officer after K-9 left in car 8 hours dies
- Do you have an investigative story tip? Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com
“Nobody really wants to go on strike, but we need to make sure we have educators here because that's what our kids need,” said Seattle Education Association President Phyllis Campano.
This is Campano’s fifth round of bargaining for the district. She remembers the 2015 strike well.
Campano said teachers don't want to strike again, but they're having a tough time reaching a deal.
“You can go to Edmonds and make $16,000 to $20,000 dollars more a year. Bellevue you're going to make more, Lake Washington, so we have to be competitive,” she said.
Last fall, the salary for first-year teachers in Edmonds was already 13 percent higher than Seattle's $46,700.
Seattle's new Superintendent Denise Juneau told KIRO 7 in July that she hoped to avoid a strike.
“We value the work that our educators do and we want to make sure that they are provided an adequate and competent salary,” said Juneau.
Dionne Ash Ford isn't as optimistic. She has three kids who go to Seattle Public Schools.
"Parents, we've got to go to work, now we've got to find suitable day cares somewhere else until school comes back,” said Ford.
Ford and other parents are already preparing for the worst.
"I'm already working on it, trying to get the problem fixed. I'm going to have a plan b just in case, just in case,” she said.
About 180 school districts across Washington are still in contract negotiations just days before school is set to begin. If Seattle chooses to strike, they’ll join a handful of other schools in the state taking the same course of action.
Cox Media Group
