Kent teacher talks to resume; court hearing today

With the Kent teachers strike now in its 15th day, the two sides are narrowing the gap in what has been the most contentious issue: class size.

The Kent School District has one of the highest class-size limits in the area, with a maximum of 31 students per class in grades 1-3, 34 in grades 4-6 and no limit in the higher grades.

While district administrators stress that very few classes reach that level, they have offered to lower those limits by two students in grades 1-6, and also to give teachers classroom help at a lower threshold than before.

That offer, made in bargaining sessions over the weekend, failed to satisfy teachers, who have proposed lowering the limits for those grades by three students. The union wants class caps in middle and high school. And it views the district's offer as insincere, saying it has loopholes that render it meaningless.

Negotiations broke off early Tuesday morning but are scheduled to resume this morning, with a court hearing later today before King County Superior Court Judge Andrea Darvas regarding the teachers' defiance of her order to return to work the day after Labor Day.

Darvas could fine teachers or even arrest them, although that's happened only once in Washington state, in 1973 in Vancouver.

The Kent strike started Aug. 27, a few days before school was to start. All but a couple hundred of the district's 1,700 teachers voted to walk off their jobs, after months of negotiations between the teachers union and the school district failed to yield an agreement on a number of issues, but primarily class size and the number of meetings.

Kent teachers say their school district — unlike many other districts in these difficult economic times, can afford to spend more money. They eye the district's $21 million reserve fund, saying Kent should put more of that cash into the classroom.

A number of nearby school districts do, in fact, have lower class-size limits than Kent. In Auburn, for example, the maximum fourth-grade class size is 27, in Tacoma it's 28 and in Federal Way 29.

That doesn't mean actual class sizes are bigger in Kent than in those districts, because not all classes reach the limits. Kent administrators say only a few of their classes reach the limits outlined in the previous teachers contract, which has expired. They say most classes from kindergarten through grade six have 22 or 23 students per class.

Last year, all but six classes from kindergarten through third grade had 27 students or fewer, said Merri Rieger, the district's executive director of learning and school improvement for ninth through 12th grades.

But many Kent teachers tell a different story, saying they struggle with large classes, especially when many of their students are new to the United States and are just learning English.

Allen Storkel, a fourth-grade teacher at Springbrook Elementary, said he had 29 students last year, many of whom were learning English or had disabilities or behavior issues.

"I believe in high standards for teaching but even the most amazing teacher is going to face challenges with 29 kids," he said.

And the union doesn't believe the district's offer is sincere, citing language that says the district would not be bound to those class sizes if, for example, it was faced with laying off staff.

"It didn't appear genuine when the escape clause already nullifies their proposal," said Lisa Brackin Johnson, president of the Kent Education Association.

The district says that's misinterpreting its intentions — that it simply wants to protect itself in case of a future loss of funding, not one that's already occurred.

If the district's local levy failed, for example, "we'd need to come back and sit at the table," said Becky Hanks, district spokeswoman.

The district's class-size offer would cost $1.7 million. But the union thinks the district could and should invest more, using some of its reserves to do so.

The district has $21 million in savings that includes $12.5 million in unrestricted savings and $8.5 million in funds that have been set aside for distinct purposes. The unrestricted savings make up about 5 percent of the district's budget.

The nearby Renton and Highline districts have about 3 percent in unrestricted savings.

District administrators say that a healthy reserve fund provides stability, so that when oil prices rise, or the state makes cuts, the district doesn't immediately have to cut programs to pay its bills.

The reason to spend savings, they say, is when you expect things to get better soon, and they say they have no reason to believe that's going to happen.

School Board President Jim Berrios says he's open to talking with whoever wants to talk about class sizes, reserves or other concerns. He offered coffee to teachers who recently picketed his home, and set up a meeting with them to talk with him and Superintendent Ed Vargas. He's done the same with concerned parents.

"We're not sticking our heads in the sand," he said. "If people want to talk, we're allowing them that opportunity."

Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359 or lshaw@seattletimes.com