Tentative agreement reached in Seattle teacher strike, start of school year still unknown

(The Center Square) – A tentative agreement has been reached between Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the Seattle Education Association (SEA).

According to the teachers union, the tentative…

(The Center Square) – A tentative agreement has been reached between Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the Seattle Education Association (SEA).

According to the teachers union, the tentative agreement is for a 3-year contract that emphasizes special education teacher-student ratios being maintained and improved while adding mental health staffing in all Seattle schools.

The contract details remain confidential as SEA members are set to review the proposed contract on Sept. 13.

“Yes we are going to talk about the tentative agreement … but just to be clear, we are not voting to ratify our tentative agreement yet, because we know our members deserve to see the full text,” SEA President Jennifer Matter said in a Facebook post.

The picket lines are being suspended as union members review the proposed contract. The strike has delayed the start of the school year since Sept. 7. as SEA negotiated with the district for improvements to special and multilingual education within SPS; accountability around reasonable workload for caseloads and class sizes; and better pay to retain teachers.

The Center Square reported in July that ​​about 40% of the district’s 3,227 full-time teachers made $100,000 or more in 2020-21. No details have been announced regarding any increase in salary in the tentatively agreed upon contract.

The tentative agreement will be voted on by the picketing union members who have held signs in the past week that read “fair contract now,” “make mental health a priority,” and “fund essential supports.”

SEA said in a statement that the latest contract negotiation is a step forward in a “decades-long journey to achieve the schools we all deserve.”

SPS said in its statement that it was “an incredible effort by the SPS and SEA bargaining teams,” to negotiate a new contract between the two entities.

Last week, the nearby Kent School District reached an agreement with its teachers union, delaying its school year with a strike.

The two teachers union strikes have led to around 75,000 students having the start of their school year delayed. Schools in Washington State are required to have 180 school days a year.