MARYSVILLE – Gov. Gary Locke on Thursday leaned on striking teachers and the Marysville School District to reopen classes Monday, even if there is no labor contract in place.
Locke, who has met with both sides for more than two hours each in recent days, showed impatience in the state’s longest teachers strike and the glacial pace of the talks. He promised “further steps” if progress is not made in negotiations today, but did not elaborate on what action he might take.
Defiant teachers union leaders said it will be up to the Marysville School Board – not the governor – to end the strike, which entered its 39th day today and has kept 11,000 students and 650 teachers out of the classroom.
“I am calling on the administration and teachers to open school on Monday, agreement or not,” the governor said. “They can continue to work out the details of a compromise, but we must get Marysville students back in the classrooms where they belong.
“It is unacceptable that this strike has continued for so long – now a record 38 days,” Locke said. “It is also unacceptable that neither side has shown a sense of urgency to resolve the strike.”
Locke said it is clear that the traditional mediation process is not working.
Elaine Hanson, president of the Marysville Education Association, said the strike will continue regardless of the governor’s wishes if the Marysville School Board doesn’t come in with an acceptable compromise today.
“The school board can settle this tomorrow at the mediation session by bringing in a proposal that compromises on the three major sticking points,” she said. “We have said it over and over again, the power lies with the school board.”
Marysville teachers don’t want to switch from a local to a state salary schedule; they don’t want additional workdays without pay; and they want locally funded pay and benefit improvements.
Hanson said she didn’t know what steps the governor has in mind if the talks remain in a stalemate.
“It doesn’t matter what happens around us, whether it is the governor ordering us or anything else, this will be settled at the bargaining table,” she said.
Mark Johnson, a school board member, said getting the outside perspective from Locke was helpful.
“I hope we can get kids back on Monday,” Johnson said. “I wish the teachers would come back. They have been welcome since school was supposed to start in September. This is a teachers strike, not a school lockout.”
Johnson said the district has resisted seeking a court injunction to get teachers back to work. A parents’ group, however, filed court papers earlier this week asking a Snohomish County Superior Court judge to order the teachers back to class. A hearing before Judge Linda Krese is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Johnson pointed to hard feelings between Issaquah teachers and their school district a year ago when the district sought and received a court injunction. A settlement was quickly reached afterward.
“Given Issaquah’s experience last year, we are trying to avoid legal action,” Johnson said. “We don’t want to do anything to further damage the relationship between the teachers and the school district.”
In a question-and-answer session after his comments, Locke said he will closely monitor today’s talks with the state mediator.
“We are prepared to take further action tomorrow if there is a report of a lack of substantial progress,” he said.
Also Thursday, state Attorney General Christine Gregoire sent a letter to the district and the teachers union reminding them of a provision in the state constitution that assigns the state the “paramount duty” to provide students with a basic education.
That includes a 180-day school year.
“At some point, and that point is rapidly approaching, the right of each student to a basic education could be impaired by the ongoing strike,” Gregoire said. “Those charged with educating our youth, and that includes both the school board and teachers, must ensure that the students’ constitutionally guaranteed right is fulfilled.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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