The Snohomish teachers’ strike could be one of the friendliest around. Let’s hope it stays that way. At some point — hopefully, sooner than later — teachers will put down their picket signs and classrooms will be full of students.
It’s difficult to get past the recent breakdown in talks and see a final result, especially with negotiations down to the nitty gritty. The numbers involved are about as difficult to grasp as the newfangled math some schools teach, where students can get the final answer wrong but get lots of credit for the steps they took along the way to not solving the problem.
We give both sides credit for taking the high road and looking at this as a disagreement on issues, not a personal vendetta — just as long as both sides come up with a final answer that solves the problem. For that to happen, it looks like both sides are going to have to give some more, or one side is going to have to give a lot more. Because of the intricacies of budgets and levies and state and local dollars, it’s difficult to point to one side as being at fault at this stage of the bargaining.
To their credit, district officials recently brought in independent financial experts to cull any extra money from the budget that could go to teachers. The district’s latest offer has it using nearly half of the upcoming increase in levy money for teacher pay. The district won’t start seeing that increase until April, so it’s still operating under the old level, said district spokeswoman J. Marie Merrifield. And the district stretched its resources to put that offer on the table, she said.
Union representatives wouldn’t say how much of the new money should go toward teacher pay, but it’s clear they believe teachers deserve some serious compensation for years of sticking with the struggling district. Teachers feel loyal to the district, even if they’re making a little less than their counterparts in neighboring districts, said Snohomish Education Association President Kit Raney. Now they want that loyalty rewarded.
If there are any communication problems, it appears they might have occurred a year ago, when negotiations focused on teacher pay and the upcoming levy. Raney said teachers understood the district needed money to pay for the levy election, but thought that meant they would see a lot more of that money the next year, after the levy passed. And the district believes that using half of the increase to pay for higher salary shows that teachers are a top priority. Perspective is a tricky thing when it comes to labor negotiations.
Two things are certain: The district must maintain financial health and teachers must be fairly compensated. The two work together. If salaries can rise steadily over a period of years, enabling the district to grow stronger at a sustainable pace and allowing teachers to see they are a priority, all the better.
It’s ironic that a district with so many problems in the past could have a relatively friendly strike now. Perhaps it’s because teachers and administrators have weathered so much together already. Making it through this latest ordeal without bitterness will strengthen all parties involved.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
