With the first day of school set for Wednesday, time is running out for Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association.
With the first day of school set for Wednesday, time is running out for Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association to reach a contract agreement that could avert a strike affecting about 50,000 students and their families.
The Seattle Education Association said Seattle Public Schools’ bargaining team walked away from the table after 7 p.m. Saturday and that no additional talks are scheduled.
The union’s current contract with the district ends at midnight on Monday, Aug. 31.
Union members said that while there has been progress on the salary component of negotiations, they will go on strike if a tentative deal is not reached before school is set to begin Wednesday.
A central issue in the negotiations is an alleged district proposal involving special education. Union members said the proposal would consolidate the special education program from four learning pathways into two. They said that could create larger class sizes, in some cases doubling the size of a classroom with the same type of students while keeping staffing levels the same.
The union is also seeking a raise of about 1% to 2% to keep up with inflation, along with what it described as less pressure for teachers across the board. But union members said the special education proposal remains the key concern.
“Everyone I've talked to who's looked at the district's proposal thinks that their proposal, as it stands now, will exacerbate that problem, making pressure greater on not only the teachers, but also on the students. We're worried that their proposal will make things less safe in the classrooms for everybody,” one educator said.
The negotiations come as the district faces an $87 million budget gap. Seattle Public Schools was asked when it may resume talks and why it made the special education proposal, including whether it is related to budget savings, but a response has not been received.
