Bellevue finally back to school as teachers end strike

Striking Bellevue teachers were headed back to work today after overwhelmingly approving a contract agreement Sunday night that gives them more money and more control over lesson plans.

District and union officials said 95 percent of teachers who voted on the contract agreed to end their nine-day walkout in the 16,000-student district.

"There were great cheers, and everyone's very excited to go back to the classrooms and begin the school year," Bellevue Education Association President Michele Miller said.

"It's what everybody's been working very hard to get to," she said.

Pay, health coverage and curriculum were the key issues in the strike by some 1,200 teachers that prevented school from starting Sept. 2.

Teachers will receive a 5 percent increase in pay over the three-year contract. That's in addition to state cost-of-living increases.

Teachers met Sunday at Sammamish High School in Bellevue to review the contract agreement reached Friday between the school district and the Bellevue Education Association.

A lingering sticking point had been the district's use of a common curriculum, which prescribes what is taught in core classes and at what pace. District officials said Friday they had accepted the teachers' request for flexibility to change daily lesson plans without prior approval.

Teachers had also asked for a salary increase that would put them on par with other districts and reflect the cost of living. Teachers will receive a 5.1 percent cost-of-living allowance from the state this year; teachers had asked for an additional 5 percent from the district over two years.

"I think they were pleased," Bellevue School Board President Peter Bentley said of the teachers. "They have the freedom they need on the curriculum, and it was a nice increase for them beyond what the state COLA (cost of living) provided."

Bellevue is considered one of the best school districts in the state, with high test scores and a high level of college participation.

Former Superintendent Mike Riley, who left the district last fall for a job at the College Board, pushed for a common curriculum as a means to narrow the achievement gap between white and minority students, and to ensure that students across the district attended top-performing schools.

But the standardized curriculum gradually fomented unrest among teachers and some parents.

The prospect of greater freedom for teachers in what they teach — and the prospect of school finally starting — thrilled parent Sherry Yee. With a son who just graduated from high school and a daughter in middle school, Yee said not all students learn at the same pace, and teachers should be able to account for that.

"They're the ones who are with the kids. They know what they need," Yee said Sunday.

Parent Bill Koefoed, who has two sons in elementary school, said parents were "super impatient and wanted this resolved."

"People get really anxious on Mondays waiting for school to start," he said.

Now, he added, it's time to focus on the future.

"I think it's important that we move on and the School Board focuses on bringing in a permanent superintendent quickly."

Since Riley left last fall, Karen Clark, the district's former finance director, has been serving as acting superintendent. The School Board recently launched a national search.

Bellevue was one of three Eastside districts in contract negotiations before the start of school; both Northshore and Snoqualmie Valley settled in time.

Last week, the Bellevue School Board decided not to ask a judge to force teachers back to work. In the state's longest teachers strike, in Marysville in 2003, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge ordered an end to the walkout after 49 days.

Seattle Times staff reporters Mark Rahner and Angel Gonzalez contributed to this report. Information from The Seattle Times archives also is included.