Record teachers strike draws Locke’s attention

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, October 8, 2003

MARYSVILLE — At 38 days, the Marysville School District and its teachers enter the record books today, embattled in the longest teacher strike in Washington’s history.

The school board discussed the strike for two hours with Gov. Gary Locke, who summoned them Wednesday night to Olympia, and board members called the session productive. Teachers will meet with him today.

"We appreciate the governor’s interest, but the responsibility lies with the school board," said Elaine Hanson, president of the 650-member Marysville Education Association.

And as for the record-breaking strike, it’s a distinction no one seems eager to celebrate.

"We didn’t go to college to carry a stick," said Jennifer Hughes, a fifth-grade teacher at Tulalip Elementary School who has been walking the picket line since Sept. 2.

"It’s a shame for children and it’s hard for teachers," said Mark Johnson, a Marysville School Board member.

"It’s embarrassing to me we made the record books," said Barbara Meyers, a parent with three children attending Marysville schools. "I’d rather make the record books recognizing we have the best school district in the state."

With no end to the strike in sight, teachers have ventured from school sidewalks to the homes of school board members.

Johnson encountered striking teachers outside his driveway as he left for work shortly before 8 a.m.

"The tactics are certainly escalating," he said.

"I’d rather they use logic and reason to solve this than pressure tactics."

Randy Davis, a science teacher from Marysville-Pilchuck High School, held a picket sign outside Johnson’s home noting that the school board has suspended public meetings during the strike, which makes it difficult to express concerns.

"We wanted to remind him he has a responsibility to his constituents and a responsibility to do the right thing, and let’s get school in session," he said.

The two sides remain apart on salary issues. Here is a look at some of the unresolved ones:

Most of a teacher’s salary comes from state taxes and, in most school districts, that money follows a state salary schedule. Marysville is among 16 school districts representing about 24 percent of Washington’s teachers who don’t follow a state schedule.

Instead, it distributes the state money from a locally bargained salary schedule.

The school district wants to move to the state salary schedule. The union is resisting.

Neither side has budged on the issue in negotiations, which began last spring.

In recent years, the state salary schedule has provided more money to beginning teachers early in their careers.

"We believe that it is a fairness issue with our younger teachers," said Judy Parker, a school district spokeswoman.

Board member Johnson said it would also provide more money to the district’s most experienced teachers and would encourage more teachers to pursue master’s and doctorate degrees.

"The state salary schedule places a value on advanced degrees," Johnson said.

The district said it would make up the difference to any teachers who would lose money under the move to the state salary schedule.

Hughes, the fifth-grade teacher, is one of those young teachers who would benefit from moving to the state salary schedule. She has been told by the district she would receive $792 more a year from the move to the state schedule.

Even so, Hughes doesn’t want to change to the state schedule. She believes it would be divisive.

"Just knowing that my colleagues will be frozen at last year’s salary, that is kind of hurtful," she said.

Other teachers say they don’t want to leave the salary schedule to the whims of the Legislature.

Union leaders say they can’t understand why the district is pushing the issue so hard, because the base salary money comes from the state, not locally.

The average state contribution to the salary of a Maryville teacher was $46,724 last year, compared with $45,371 for other teachers statewide.

A smaller part of a teacher’s salary comes from local money voters approve in levies.

Marysville teachers earned between about $3,500 and $7,865 a year in local money under the old contract. The district has proposed maintaining the current local salary range in which teachers may move up based on experience and educational credits.

The district proposal is for teachers to be paid at the same rate from the local money, which pays for 180 days with students and two days of training.

It would increase the number of days of district-controlled training from two to 10 and provide the rest for work that teachers put in on their own time during the course of the year.

The district said the extra training is important as it tries to get students up to state standards and federal goals for student achievement.

Teachers say they need more money to keep up with the rising cost of living, and the district proposal would amount to more work for the same pay.

"I can’t imagine anyone would want to work eight more days for no additional pay," said Monica Lane, a Marysville-Pilchuck High School health teacher who graduated from the district and whose two children did as well.

Lane said teachers work far more hours outside the school day than they are paid for.

Teachers also want a salary increase from the local money.

The district argues that it needs to build a healthy budget reserve, earmark money for building repairs and textbooks, and brace for increasing costs such as insurance and electricity.

"It would be easy to give the teachers what they want, but then we couldn’t give the children what they need," Johnson said.

"The children need quality dedicated teachers, and nothing is more important than that in the classroom," Hanson said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.