MARYSVILLE — A state lawmaker who has seen teachers strikes hit close to home four times over the past five years plans to introduce a bill that might help Marysville School District’s seniors graduate earlier than expected.
Rep. Hans Dunshee, a 44th District Democrat, is also drafting a bill that calls for binding arbitration for teachers and school districts to avoid strikes.
"We must change state law to allow for graduating seniors to be able to apply for colleges on time when extraordinary circumstances in a school district exist," he said.
"Extraordinary circumstances" could include the record-breaking strike still unfolding in Marysville or a natural disaster. Today is the 47th day of the strike, which has kept more than 11,000 students out of school.
Negotiators for the Marysville School District and its 650 teachers continued court-ordered mediation Friday. No settlement was reached.
Both sides said there were no formal proposals and they will continue bargaining today.
Dunshee’s legislation would give a local school board authority to shorten the school year for seniors if school is closed for a prolonged period and the seniors cannot attend. Schools are required by state law to be open 175 days for seniors and 180 days for other students.
"This bill moves that power of making that decision from the state to the local in extraordinary cases like this," Dunshee said.
"My interest is not getting them a summer off, it’s getting them into college," he added. "It would be really sad if they couldn’t get into the college of their choice because they couldn’t make an application in time."
Depending on how the Marysville district sets its calendar after the strike ends, Marysville-Pilchuck High School seniors could attend school into mid-July or August.
Many seniors worry that their senior year will bump into their future plans.
Jenna Hansen, a Marysville-Pilchuck High School senior, has orientation scheduled at Washington State University in Pullman on Aug. 19.
"I don’t want to have to go to community college so I can get enough credits so I can go to college on time," she said.
Hansen, like many seniors, hopes she gets some semblance of a vacation between high school and college. She also worries that she won’t have a chance to work next summer to earn extra money for college.
"That would be great," she said, referring to Dunshee’s bill.
Dunshee now serves in the 44th legislative district after being redistricted from the 39th. Both legislative districts include portions of the Marysville, Lake Stevens and Snohomish school districts, which have endured teacher strikes in recent years.
Dunshee, along with other state lawmakers, said it is time to consider "binding interest arbitration," similar to the process police and firefighters can follow in a labor dispute. In that case, a professional mediator talks to both sides, then negotiates a compromise and that compromise becomes binding.
"It’s time to put another process in place," Dunshee said.
The binding arbitration bill would begin with contracts for the 2004-05 school year, requiring bargaining to begin at least five months before the district adopts its budget.
If an agreement isn’t reached within 60 days, then either party could declare an impasse and request mediation from the state Public Employment Relations Commission.
If the dispute can’t be resolved at that level, the PERC executive director can require the dispute be settled through binding interest arbitration.
More than 11,000 students have been out of school since the strike began. Teachers and the district remain apart on salary issues.
The district wants the teachers to convert to a state salary model for the tax money teachers receive in salary that comes from the state. It argues that it would be fairer to young teachers at the beginning of their careers and encourage more teachers to earn master’s degrees to merit higher pay.
The union wants to continue local bargaining for those state tax dollars. It says it doesn’t want to relinquish local control of how that salary money is divided to the whims of the Legislature.
Teachers have been asking for a 7.5 percent salary increase over the next three years in local tax money. The district’s proposal is to maintain the existing salary range in local tax dollars.
Relations have been sour for years between teachers, district Superintendent Linda Whitehead and the five-member school board. Two years ago teachers voted "no confidence" in the superintendent and board.
Three incumbents — Mark Johnson, Cary Peterson, Erik Olson — are running in the Nov. 4 election. Their challengers — Carol Jason, Vicki Gates and Michael Kundu — are supported by the teachers union.
Meanwhile, a parents group called Accountability and Integrity in Marysville Schools, announced on its Web site that it had obtained legal counsel and is seeking information to organize recall campaigns specifically against board members Helen Mount and Ron Young. Neither is up for election this year.
State law grants recall elections if those pursuing the recall can prove that the elected official has demonstrated wrongful conduct that affects, interrupts or interferes with the performance of official duty; have performed their duty in an improper manner; committed a crime; or willingly neglected to perform a duty required by law.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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