It doesn’t take a doctorate or even a master’s degree to figure out that the Snohomish School District and its teachers are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to negotiating a pay increase. It will take some concessions on both sides to reach an agreement before school starts Wednesday.
Teacher frustration is understandable. While other districts in our area are giving teachers a 2 to 3 percent salary increase (in addition to what the state is paying as a result of Initiative 732), Snohomish teachers are being offered a hike of just 1.18 percent increase from their district.
Considering that these teachers have supported a district that was in the red for a while, 1.18 percent is hardly enough for the 470 members of the Snohomish Education Association.
The Everett and Northshore school districts, which both settled recently, invested between $2.5 and $3.3 million in their contracts. Both districts, along with Mukilteo schools, chipped in money to reduce out-of-pocket health insurance expenses. Northshore and Everett, both larger districts with more than 1,000 union members, had tough negotiations. At one point it looked like Northshore teachers might strike, too. And these districts already pay their teachers more than what the average teacher in Washington earns.
Snohomish teachers have endured plenty of hardship the past several years. Along with financial difficulties, they’ve weathered numerous leadership changes and scandals beyond their control. Still, their demand of a 5.6 percent salary increase in the first year of a new contract seems high, and unlikely, given the current economy — even if they are lagging in pay compared with their peers in neighboring districts.
The Snohomish School District has worked hard to become fiscally responsible while searching for ways to trim the budget without impacting classroom learning. Now the biggest impact of all may come in the form of a strike if there isn’t a contract by Sept. 3 — the first strike in the district’s history.
This is one record that shouldn’t be broken.
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