Staff reporter for the Seattle Times
The Seattle Education Association has reached a tentative agreement with Seattle Public Schools, an announcement that appears to signal the end of a four-day strike.
The deal still needs to be approved by members. vote is scheduled for Tuesday. The school opening date has not yet been announced.
The union and district have been in negotiations for months and continued to negotiate after SEA’s contract expired on Aug. 31. SEA’s 6,000 members went on strike on Wednesday, which would have been the first day of school, after they were unable to reach a contract agreement with SPS.
On Monday afternoon, Seattle Schools announced that there will be no school on Tuesday. District officials did not say how soon classes would begin after reaching an agreement with SEA, but said they hope to begin quickly.
Students will have to make up the missed days.
Some of the biggest issues preventing a contract agreement were smaller teacher-to-student ratios in special education and multilingual programs, manageable caseloads, more pay and more student mental health support.
District and union leaders both said they are committed to creating a more inclusive special education program, but disagreed on how to make that possible.
A copy of the new contract was not immediately available. SEA members must vote on the contract before it is made public, according to union leadership.
