Bellevue teachers prepare to strike

Bellevue teachers picketed outside school-district headquarters Wednesday night as negotiations over a new contract showed no signs of resolution before the scheduled start of school Tuesday.

Teachers in the 16,000-student district say they're still far from agreement with the Bellevue School District over salary and their concerns about the district's centrally mandated curriculum. In June, teachers authorized a strike for the start of school if a new contract wasn't in place. The current three-year contract is set to expire Sunday.

About 500 teachers chanted "No contract? No school!" as the School Board had its regularly scheduled meeting inside.

Middle-school teacher Julie Tzucker said the district curriculum is a major issue for teachers.

"We'd like the freedom to design lessons and not have a scripted curriculum. Every classroom is unique; every student is unique."

On its Web site, the district is warning parents that unless a contract is signed by Monday, classes may not start Tuesday. Negotiations are scheduled through the Labor Day weekend.

Meanwhile, teachers in the Snoqualmie Valley and Northshore school districts avoided potential strikes by approving new contracts Wednesday.

Northshore School District teachers ratified a three-year deal that includes raises, more resources for teacher training and an agreement to try to reduce class sizes. The district serves Bothell, Kenmore and Woodinville.

The new contract includes a 4.4 percent cost-of-living adjustment for this school year, as approved by the state Legislature, according to a district news release. The contract also will give Northshore teachers additional modest raises to maintain competitive salaries with nearby districts. Some parts of the agreement depend on the passage of a technology levy in 2010.

The Snoqualmie Education Association, which also had authorized a strike in June, also ratified a new contract on Wednesday. The union said the three-year agreement struck a good balance between the Snoqualmie Valley School District's financial responsibilities and its ability to attract and retain quality teachers.

Curriculum an issue

Bellevue is widely considered one of the state's best school districts, with high test scores and a high level of college participation. But under the leadership of former Superintendent Mike Riley, the increased academic rigor over the past decade was accompanied by increasing district control over curriculum, including standardizing what is taught from classroom to classroom and, teachers say, even how they must teach it.

"The district's micromanagement shows a tremendous lack of confidence in teachers' professional abilities," said Dale Folkerts, spokesman for the Bellevue Education Association.

School-district spokeswoman Ann Oxrieder said the district presented teachers with a memorandum of understanding Monday that says teachers may use their professional judgment to modify or supplement the standardized curriculum.

But Michele Miller, president of the Bellevue Education Association, said the district still would require teachers to submit alternative plans in advance for approval. Teachers say that leaves them without the flexibility to modify lessons to meet the needs of individual students or to adapt instruction to the interests of different classes.

The district argues that the common curriculum helps ensure that students in every classroom receive the same education.

Former superintendent Riley left in November. Karen Clark, the district's former finance director, is serving as acting superintendent.

Dispute over raises

On the salary issue, Bellevue teachers say that while they're among the region's highest paid, their salaries haven't kept up with raises in other districts.

The district says its offer of a 1.5 percent pay increase for this school year, combined with a state cost-of-living raise, would give teachers a 6.6 percent salary increase for 2008-09. Oxrieder noted that the salary offer comes as the district is cutting $4.8 million from its budget.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com