I want the Snohomish School Board, the administration, and the district negotiator to begin to support the process necessary to create a contract, which will be accepted by the Snohomish teachers.
Issues of salary, insurance benefits, professional development incentives, class size and wages for extended work on the part of teachers have been overlooked in the bargaining proposals these past six months. The most recent District responses have not addressed any of these authentic issues in a positive way.
I believe the context of this contract negotiation process is worth remembering, but not reliving. Just a few short years ago the Snohomish District was in a very difficult financial situation. The origin of that serious problem had absolutely nothing to do with teacher’s salaries. Yet two years ago in bargaining for a contract, the teachers agreed to concessions that amounted to $800,000 a year. There are no longer art specialists in the elementary schools, the hourly rates of pay for teachers have been frozen at $20.66. Adjustments were made in the librarian’s time and the educational assistants’ support to that important work with children and information. There are other specifics to that historic concession. Each of them impacted the quality of education for Snohomish children and the quality of life for Snohomish teachers.
Currently negotiations do not focus on those former concessions. However, the climate created in this present process indicates the Snohomish School negotiating team is joining with both old fears and a tight grip on the purse strings. It is as though the greatly improved fiscal condition of the district is but a myth.
The truth is the Snohomish School District is no longer living on the edge with the state looking critically at its financial situation. In contrast the people of Washington passed initiatives to reduce class size as well as a cost-of-living initiative for teachers. Last spring, Snohomish voters passed the local levy. Those funds are now being collected. The reality for the negotiation process is there are resources for creating improved educational conditions as well as for recruitment and retention of qualified professionals.
I want the district negotiation team to recognize accurately the choice before us. I want them to get to work to create a contract which respects the work of teachers with a decent salary, funds the staff which implements the learning to children, and allows us all to get on with the important work of the school year.
Snohomish teacher/counselor
SEA Bargaining Support Team
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