Seattle Public Schools: First day of school 'likely' to be delayed
Seattle Public Schools 'unlikely' to start Wednesday
Seattle Public Schools says it is ?likely? the start of school will be delayed, as the district negotiates with the teachers? union.
SEATTLE - Seattle Public Schools says it is ‘likely’ the start of school will be delayed, as the district negotiates with the teachers’ union.
The Seattle Education Association (SEA) is voting to authorize a strike that begins the first day of school—Wednesday, Sep. 7—and officials with the school district say they rejected a memorandum of understanding, which would allow school to start on-time while negotiations continued.
Instead, several hundred Seattle school teachers spent their Labor Day afternoon making picket signs for the possible strike.
"The [memorandum], that’s a distraction—honestly, it’s not going to move us closer to an agreement," said SEA President Jennifer Matter. "This past week we were making a lot of movement, and we remain optimistic we can reach a tentative agreement."
Meanwhile, the district emailed families of students on Sunday, saying the start of school will likely be delayed.
If the start of school is delayed, officials say they are working on a plan to provide pick-up meals for students, as well as reaching out to childcare providers. Regardless of delays, SPS expects after-school athletics to continue.
"I just really, really hope we don't have to strike, because nobody wants that," said fifth grade teacher Sara Williams, while she was making picket signs. "We are all thinking about our families and our students, and we understand the impact that has on families, I wouldn't be here if what the district is proposing was not unconscionable."
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"I feel hopeful going into this week," said Lisa Alishio, and occupational therapy assistant who works with special education students. "We want the same thing for our students and teachers, that has to be sustainable."
The teachers have made support for special education a major bargaining issue in the negotiation.
"I’m skeptical that we are going to start on time, because there is such a massive need in our special ed classrooms, especially for moderate and severe learning disabilities, and it seems the district really wants to pull away support," said Dustin Cole, a special education teacher at Graham Hill Elementary.
School bus contract issues
There’s also the uncertainty of buses and if there will be enough of them. The district had to bring in First Student, it’s bus vendor for the last several decades, to cover several dozen routes that the districts new bus vender Zum said it could not support due to staffing issues.
The district says parents were notified of their student's individual bus schedule last week, but a spokesperson told FOX 13 on Monday that they "do not yet know about potentially suspended routes."
Bargaining teams for both sides were at the John Stanford Education Center on Monday, but it’s unclear if any meeting took place between the two.
"I can understand, we all can understand how it is, how anxiety-inducing the unknown is," said Matter. "But I want to assure you that we are fully committed to working to reach a tentative agreement as quickly as possible, and that is our number one goal right now."
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The union plans to announce the results of their strike shortly after the voting closes 9 a.m. on Tuesday.