Striking Bellevue teachers reject offer

By a 75 percent majority, Bellevue teachers voted Monday night to continue their week-old strike.

The teachers overwhelmingly rejected the school district's latest offers on salary, health care and the common curriculum, presented during a three-hour meeting. "We're still on strike," said Michele Miller, Bellevue Education Association president. "We're still looking for a contract that has respect for teachers' judgment in the classroom and respect for their salaries and benefits to keep up with the cost of living."

The vote was a blow to the district, which earlier in the day raised its salary offer to an increase of 4.5 percent over the three-year contract. Combined with a 5.1 cost-of-living allowance from the state, teacher salaries would have risen 9.6 percent.

The district initially offered teachers a 3 percent raise.

The teachers union had requested 9 percent in salary increases in addition to the state cost-of-living allowance.

The teachers union said the district-proposed health-care benefits would not have increased in the second and third years of the contract, while teachers' out-of-pocket costs continue to rise.

Union spokesman Dale Folkerts also said teachers still have concerns that they can be disciplined for changing lessons in the common curriculum.

"We're so disappointed," said School Board member Chris Marks. "We're running out of options."

Marks said the district sweetened the pay package by increasing the offer to teachers in the third year of the contract contingent upon the successful passage of a school levy in 2010.

She said the district can't give the teachers more money before 2010 without cutting academic programs, raising class sizes or eliminating the seven-period day at middle and high schools.

She said Bellevue parents expect high-quality programs and noted that 85 percent of Bellevue school-age children attend public schools, a much higher percentage than in other large districts in the region.

"We know our community expects excellence and academic options. We can't compromise that," Marks said.

Some parents said the district should have acted more quickly to meet the teachers' pay demands.

"They should have done something sooner to show their good faith in the teachers. It's been like pulling teeth," said Marianne Jones, a district parent.

Last week, the district agreed to give teachers more leeway in how they use the common curriculum, which outlines what is taught in core classes, how it is presented and at what pace.

Teachers complained that what had originally been introduced as a resource for teachers was increasingly enforced as a requirement that gave teachers little flexibility to meet the needs of individual students.

The district said the common curriculum ensures the same quality of education from school to school and classroom to classroom. It proposed compromise language last week to let teachers substitute lessons and work with a committee to improve the curriculum.

Teachers have also raised concerns that increases in health-care premiums and co-payments would wipe out any raises.

The district's 1,200 teachers went on strike a week ago.

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