Seattle School District, teachers union reach tentative agreement

By Sanjay Bhatt
Seattle Times staff reporter

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In a departure from previous contracts, the Seattle Education Association and Seattle School Board sought a five-year contract instead of a three-year agreement, and specific language aimed at eliminating the gap in achievement between students of different ethnic groups. The contract's term would align it with the school district's five-year plan, which the board plans to approve this fall.

If union members ratify the proposed labor agreement, teachers would receive a 9 percent increase in supplemental pay over the first four years and incur lower out-of-pocket costs for their health insurance premiums, SEA officials said.

In the fifth year, the raises would bring Seattle, which ranks last among the region's school districts in terms of teachers' pay, to the fifth highest, said Steve Pulkkinen, SEA executive director and chief negotiator. Only Bellevue, Tacoma, Tukwila and Everett would continue to pay their teachers more, he said.

"The compensation package will make us competitive with the surrounding school districts," SEA President Wendy Kimball said in a statement "We currently are losing a lot of talented people to the suburbs. This is a key ingredient to attracting and retaining qualified educators. But just as important is the confidence, the focus and the commitment to resources to allow us to do very positive things for students."

About 2,400 teachers living in Seattle work in surrounding districts instead of Seattle, Pulkkinen said, and only 800 teachers living in outlying areas commute to work in the Seattle School District.

For the first time, the contract contains a section on reducing the achievement gap. Among other things, a stakeholders committee would be formed this fall to select a handful of schools for sustained efforts to eliminate the gap. In the event of districtwide layoffs, teachers at these schools would be protected for at least one year.

"This should build some stability into those schools," Kimball said.

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or sbhatt@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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