Work Session: Seattle Education Association Tentative Agreement Summary

Update 2: The reporting is much more meaty than I thought it would be. I will need to ask for the document as it's difficult to keep up with the district speakers. 

Superintendent Jones asked directors for "no opinion or judgement" as they are still ironing the agreement out.

The overall cost will be $228M over three years; there will be a shortfall by Year Three

'22-23 - they have the dollars in the General Fund

'23-24 - will tap into ESSER funds 

'24-25 - without any ESSER funds, projected shortfall of $139M

Questions/Answers

Rankin: procedural question on going forward. 

Jones: Intro and Action at next Board meeting or special meeting to do that. 

Compensation 

1. Rankin - How many people this covers certificated and classifieds? Can wait for this info

2. Song Maritz - How does this put us with other districts in relative compensation? 

Pritchett - comparable space to other nearby districts

3. Rivera Smith - break down the years. 

Rob Gannon - This answer got away from me. IPD means Implicit price deflator (cost of living), this is a state-driven figure funded by the state. SPS compensate differently from most other districts. We get 3.6% of the 5.5% that is identified as IPD; it is not a full allocation. 

4. Hampson - .5 Social Workers at middle, high school and K-8, regardless of demographics?

Yes. (Hampson seemed unhappy with this answer.)

5. Song Maritz - ESSER date due to spend money?

Hampson interrupts to say let Gannon figure that out. 

6. Missed

7. Harris - miscommunication about the Sped Taskforce, membership, recommendations, inclusion, etc and why not released? When we can see on website and not educrat jargon, for our communities, parents and taxpayers?

Purpose of joint Taskforce, understand a bargaining agreement is not Superintendent or Board Taskforce as recognized in policy. Under guidance of CBA with joint interest for future bargains. As listed, CBA recommends SEA members to be appointed, Sped staff and principals. We also agreed family members and there are 5 of them. In order to public anything, there has to be joint agreement to release it but SEA and SPS must both agree.

We changed for ELL/Dual Language there will be a report. If the Board wants to see this, we will do that for BOTH task forces by asking SEA to do so. 

Hampson - "not taking action on anything, one request does not an action make." Hampson ends, "A single request just goes in the air." Nice smackdown to Harris. 

8. Rankin - resource continuum? Who does that apply to? 

Would include ratios.

9. Rankin - Sped question that I could not follow. 

10. Rankin - recommitment to Sped TaskForce, must be in CBA and that seems like needs of adults. 

Pedroza - have a superintendent advisory committee as well. Public meetings like HCC Advisory Committee. 

So I am checking out here (about 6:10 pm). I will try to come back and rewatch this but I think there's some good stuff in here but also some unsaid things that are internal that the Board and staff know but we are not going to get clear answers to. I find that annoying for a public meeting. 

end of update

Update: looks like it will start sooner, probably like 5:30 pm.

end of update

I just noticed this on the Board agenda for the now-in-progress school board meeting. It comes near the end of the agenda so if I had to guess, probably about 5:35-5:45 pm start time. It might be interesting. 

Here's the link to the SPS YouTube page to watch.