A teachers union picket in 2018
With the first day of school now only two weeks away, Seattle Public Schools says contract talks are progressing but there is no deal yet with the union representing the city’s public educators.
“SPS leaders have worked diligently throughout summer to achieve a new contract with the Seattle Education Association that continues to put the needs of students first, support the career growth of educators and staff, and create a more inclusive, equitable education system that supports learning,” the district said in a “Collective Bargaining Agreement Update” email to families this week.
It’s a message the district has been repeating as it works on a deal including new agreements around “shared priorities” including “Opportunities for Multilingual and Special Education,” “Safe Workplaces,” and “Competitive Pay, Time Off, and Professional Excellence.”
For educators, the stress and challenges of pandemic-era teaching have built up and are part of the negotiations.
“To be an educator really needs some incentivizing right now, our districts, our public schools need to showcase how they honor and appreciate educators, not just call them heroes, and not just thank them afterwards,” a union leader told KUOW.
Recent deals including a one-year agreement reached to narrowly avert a strike in 2018 included significant pay raises and increased family leave.
More recently, the union and the district butted heads before the start of the school year in 2021 over COVID-19 protocol and policies.
The district is now led by Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones who stepped up from his interim post earlier this year. Jones has led the district since the departure of Denise Juneau in April 2021 who announced she would be stepping down in the wake of controversy over her handling of COVID-19 policies and relationship with the teachers union during the pandemic.
Kent public schools, meanwhile, are facing a strike with the district and the union struggling to reach an agreement on issues including pay, mental health services for students, and workload before this week’s scheduled start of the school year.
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