No school in Bellevue as teachers go on strike

In what many viewed as an inevitable end to a difficult four months of negotiations, Bellevue teachers announced Monday night they would go on strike.

The first day of school, which would have been today, will be marked by teachers walking picket lines and parents scrambling to find child care.

The strike announcement came during a union meeting at Odle Middle School, where about 80 parents and students gathered in solidarity with the teachers, holding signs and chanting.

"We support our teachers," the group cheered.

"Our teachers rock," one cardboard sign read.

In announcing the decision, the teachers were somber. About two dozen educators emerged silently from the gymnasium carrying red, white and blue strike signs.

"This is not a place any teacher wants to be," said Michele Miller, Bellevue Education Association president.

Nearly 1,000 of the district's 1,200 teachers, counselors and other classroom specialists attended Monday night's meeting.

Ann Oxrieder, a spokeswoman for the 16,000-student district, said the strike was disappointing but not unexpected. The main sticking points, according to both sides, are related to pay and curriculum.

Negotiations will continue this afternoon, a union spokesman said.

Teachers and district officials had been in talks for months. The union voted in June to authorize a strike if a contract were not in place by the start of the school year.

A mediator called in over the weekend was unable to resolve the dispute.

Although the Bellevue teachers are among the highest paid in the state, they say their increases have not kept pace with those in neighboring districts. The district offered a 1.5 percent pay raise for the school year; combined with a state cost-of-living raise, their actual salary would have increased by 6.6 percent.

A beginning teacher in Bellevue earns $39,798, according to the district. After five years, and with a master's degree, the salary is $49,067.

The district, the 15th largest in the state, has already cut its $164 million operating budget by $4.8 million and said further salary increases would likely lead to reductions in staff and increases in classroom size.

The two sides also disagree about curriculum. Bellevue, which is among the most highly regarded districts in the state, employs a curriculum that teachers complain does not allow for deviation.

Dale Folkerts, a spokesman for the Washington Education Association, said there are "prescripted lesson plans" and classrooms are "micromanaged" down to the minute.

Parents supporting the teachers outside Odle said they have heard of teachers who covered classroom windows when straying from the authorized curriculum so administrators could not see in.

One mother said that although her child was ready for advanced math, the administration told her it was not in the curriculum. She decided to home-school her children.

Oxrieder, the district spokeswoman, said Monday night that they have discussed ways to loosen controls over curriculum and that they're "close," but have not yet reached agreement. She noted that many parents favor the current curriculum.

The strike means parents are busy trying to figure out where their children will go. Miller, the union president, realizes it will be inconvenient.

"We're asking for some patience until we can guarantee the education they get in the classroom is a quality education," she said.

Karen Campbell, the parent of a seventh-grader, said she's disappointed the dispute has reached this point, but she, too, has big concerns about the stringent curriculum.

"I have to say as a parent that what's best for our students is the teachers going on strike," she said Monday night, outside Odle.

Maayan Shuval, a senior at Interlake High School, said she plans to support the teachers by bringing them food on the picket lines today.

The Bellevue School District will post updates at www.bsd405.org.

The Bellevue Education Association will post updates at www.bellevueea.org.

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562 or mohagan@seattletimes.com