District says negotiations stall over teacher demand for 6% raise on top of state-funded cost-of-living adjustments
(Image: Seattle Education Association)
Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said contract negotiations for a new teachers contract stalled in a message to student families over the weekend.
Negotiations between Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association were unable to move forward, prompting the district to request a mediator from the Public Employment Relations Commission, Shuldiner said in the Sunday update.
Shuldiner said the district sought mediation after rejecting the union’s latest counterproposal as regressive bargaining, arguing the new submission added millions of dollars in costs to earlier demands.
The district’s contract package offers educators an 8.8% salary increase over three years with no furlough days, tied to state cost-of-living adjustments.
Additional provisions include adding six psychologists, assigning a full-time social worker or counselor to schools with more than 350 students, and restructuring special education models to keep students in neighborhood schools with increased behavioral support.
The proposal also features district-funded VEBA health accounts, reduced monthly staff meetings, and an additional paid training day for more than 1,500 paraprofessionals and office staff.
The 8.8% pay raise over three years would pass through projected state-funded cost-of-living adjustments with no local increase. In contrast, the Seattle Education Association is proposing the same state inflation adjustment plus an additional 6.0% wage increase over three years, alongside targeted bumps for paraprofessionals and office staff.
CHS reported last week as the union authorized a strike as union leaders say that members are seeking an agreement focused on shifting resources to the classroom, strengthening special education supports, along with “respectful pay,” and “easing pressurization on educators” with smaller class sizes.
SEA represents 6,000 teachers, paraeducators, counselors, and support staff.
Seattle Public Schools is facing a chronic structural budget deficit, operating with an annual general fund budget of roughly $1.35 billion while managing annual shortfalls in the $90 million to $130 million range. The state allocates school funding primarily on a per-pupil model. With its enrollment dropping, SPS loses tens of millions annually in state basic education funding. Meanwhile, federal pandemic relief funds have fully expired.
The median and average salary for Seattle Public Schools teachers sits at approximately $117,000 per year.
In its latest public update Friday, SEA said its members were preparing over the weekend with picket sign making and picket practice at Judkins Park.
The dispute comes four years after the union took the rare step of launching a strike in pounding out a contract with the district in 2022 with wins on special education and salaries.
A state mediator has been assigned to help the parties bridge remaining divides before the school year begins. The first day of classes in Seattle is scheduled for Wednesday.
Both sides are providing updates on the talks:
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