Two weeks ago tonight, Seattle Public Schools and its educators’ union, the Seattle Education Association, reached what was literally an eleventh-hour tentative agreement on a new contract, enabling classes to start the next day as scheduled. Last Friday, SEA members met to vote, and some voted online.Results are now final, and the union has just sent an announcement saying the contract was “overwhelmingly approved”:
…The agreement includes a new, input- and data-driven process to improve Special Education services. It also includes several new measures that reduce the growing pressure on educators, from protected planning and collaboration time to increased staffing of nurses, psychologists, and social workers or counselors. …
The next step is for the School Board to ratify the agreement, which is expected within days.
The contract vote is in fact on the agenda for the board’s next meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) night.