Seattle Schools Community Forum

Ever seen this site? It's the Washington State Fiscal Information t hat tells you how much every K-12 school employee is paid. This is through 2024-2025 so Superintendent Ben Shuldiner isn't here.   I note that former senior administrative staffer Michael Tolley, who is now Northshore's super was making $460K+ a year. No one in SPS senior management makes less than $200K plus nearly every high school principal makes about $200K.  I am hearing rumblings of unhappiness from elementary school parents who are finding out that the state law requires at least 30 minutes of recess a day a nd apparently, in SPS, that's all they are going to get. PE does not count in that 30 minutes. The law also states that schools withholding recess as a punishment for behavior or academic work is discouraged. Interestingly the law also encourages recess BEFORE lunch so kids don't rush through the meal to go play.  I see from a Reddit page that there will be 130 minutes of LA in the day ...

Yes, I have seen this essay by Sandeep Kaushik, The Decade of Decline in Seattle Public Schools.  Yes, my work was acknowledged twice and I am very grateful for that. (Full disclosure, I have spoken to Sandeep on educational issues several times but I would call him a colleague and not a friend.)  Yes, I do plan to write about it here but my day is busy. I'll try to get to it later but you are welcome to read it and comment. 

Update: I erred in saying that it was Ibi  Idowu, SEA president,  who was signing the agreement with Superintendent Shuldiner. It was VP  Davina Diaz. Both women wear big glasses and Ms. Diaz' head was down. My apologies  End of update From statements that Superinetendent Ben Shuldiner has made, the teachers and associated staff (paraprofessionals, office staff, and substitutes) will get slightly more than the 8.8% raise that was offered.  My understanding is the state COLA is 2.6% per year and so this may represent a little less than 2% from SPS.  The Special Education services that teachers wanted? Kinda kicked down the road by both sides. The district is creating a "partnership" to look at Special Education (that allegedly will include parents). I'm a bit baffled because I thought there already was a Special Education Taskforce. This new group will spend 18 MONTHS to research, talk to families, and look at best fit options for SPS.  Additionally th...

This query comes from Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times . Yes, Danny, everyone who tracks Seattle Schools sure knows it. I think the better, more obvious question is "How did we get here?" The amount of hand-wringing (and some finger pointing) from SPS leadership over the years has not helped. What really hasn't helped are boards that have approved these "balanced" budgets and contracts. And boy I wish Superintendent Shuldiner has not used that phrase - "we're broke" - because it makes a simple statement of a complex situation. (But he also said this: “It’s the sword of Damocles hanging over all of us."  That's old school Greek storytelling right there.) From Westneat: Broke means you can’t pay your bills. Insolvent means your debts outpace your assets and income to the point of fiscal crisis. Public schools don’t really go out of business, so it would likely mean the state stepping in to force some spending cuts. Westneat, along with...

So, how was your child's first day? I would love to hear how it went. 

 Update via the West Seattle Blog - statement from SEA: The tentative agreement remains subject to ratification by both parties. The Seattle Education Association membership and the Seattle School Board must each convene to consider and vote on the agreement. Dates and details for the ratification process will be announced as soon as possible. As well, Superintendent Sludiner will be talking to the media sometime this morning; not sure if it will be televised. end of update From SPS Communications: Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is pleased to announce that the 2026-27 school year will  begin as scheduled on Wednesday, Sept. 2 . The first day of school for preschool and kindergarten students will be on Tuesday, Sept. 8.  This news follows a tentative agreement reached between SPS and the Seattle Education Association (SEA) on a contract to replace the one that expired on Aug. 31. SPS and SEA have been engaged in negotiations throughout the summer and worked diligently to re...

Update 2: The 9:30 pm update says the negotiations are still continuing. However it says there will be an update in one hour, not two.  End of update Update 1: The 7:30 updates says the two sides are still working. Next update at 9:30 pm. end of up date   - Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said he and all the members of the negotiations teams were up until 1:30 am last night and they are still in process at this hour. - The big takeaway is that there will be an update EVERY TWO HOURS, starting around 5:30 pm today. It will be on Facebook, Instagram, SPS website, etc.  - He was asked when he will call school or no school tomorrow. He likened it to a snow day when you are trying to get the best answer possible for families to act on. He said he is hoping between 10 pm and midnight. But he said when an agreement is made "you will hear it from the rooftops." - He said he was feeling more confident but couldn't really elaborate. - He said families at schools that have childcare s...

  To any parents interested, a reporter from KIRO7 News is looking to talk with some parents:: "My name is Brandon with KIRO7 News. Given that educators say support for special education is the top of their priority list in this contract negotiation, we'd like to hear from families of those students on what their experience is and what they are hoping for from this contract. We can meet you over zoom or in person before 3p today. Feel free to call or text my cell at 206-718-9687"

  And it's a doozy. I'm off to a protest this morning but I'll do some analysis later.  Whenever Seattle’s teachers threaten to strike, they always claim their advocacy is for the kids. But it’s hard to take that seriously. Because, in fact, they don’t need to strike at all. As Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said in a  blistering email to parents  on Sunday night — three days before the start of the new school year — the Seattle Education Association, which represents about 6,000 of the district’s educators, could work under their current contract even after it expires Monday night, while continuing to negotiate with Seattle Public Schools. Teachers would continue to be paid, and they’d get their raises retroactively, as soon as a new agreement is signed. “We are not the NFL owners who lock out our players trying to exact concessions or givebacks,” the superintendent wrote. “There is absolutely no reason to strike other than to flex power.” In the maelstrom of innuendo...

  I'm going to post what the West Seattle Blog is reporting. ( The district was recording it and as soon as I see it posted, I'll put it up as well.) Shuldiner says he’s glad that educators are in schools today, getting ready for the start of school, which he says “is the only thing I care about.” He says the talks are difficult because “We’re broke.” He says he’d love to “give money …to everyone,” if he had one. He says both sides are meeting right now, with the mediator present.   If a strike is called, though, “we are prepared,” and there will be meals available for kids, nonprofits that operate in schools will be able to operate, and they might have some “programming” for kids. But he say his “hope” is that school will still start on Wednesday.   On specific issues, he starts with special education, and says that it’s become a “place, not a service,” and he says that has to change. He said it’s “OK” that “folks didn’t like” the district’s first version of special edu...

Just to note the obvious - the contract needs to be approved before the first day of school on Wednesday, September 2nd. The district says the teachers and other staff can work under their old contract without a strike.  The West Seattle Blog reports that as of this hour (3 pm), they are waiting at SPS headquarters for a briefing from the Superintendent. WSB will be blogging live so I'll try to keep up there. They do report that negotiations ARE continuing.  Parents don't seem to get that changing Special Education to return most of those students to their home schools means putting them in General Ed classes. My recollection is that while SPS has high-minded reasons to do so, they are not putting any money towards teacher support. I never have had confidence in the plan and without clear information, it's hard to know what will happen.  Here is one Reddit parent's explanation of current and offered services for Special Education. I liked another parent's comment to...

  I did a search and the AI answer covered a lot of ground so that's what I'm putting up here. I will say that I suspect that SPS as well as SEA both do NOT want to do this. But it can be done and HAS been done in Washington State.  Yes, there are many examples of school districts across the United States that engage in open negotiations (also known as "transparent bargaining," "public bargaining," or "sunshine bargaining").  While traditional teacher contract talks happen behind closed doors, open negotiations allow community members, parents, and journalists to physically attend or digitally stream the sessions.  Specific real-world examples include: 1. Pullman School District (Washington) In 2017, the Pullman School District became one of the first in Washington state to pass a resolution requiring collective bargaining to take place in public.  How it works: All bargaining sessions with the teachers' union are hosted in the high school co...

Update 1: Superintendent Ben Shuldiner's latest message. I'll just say I think people are reading with positions already formed. Highlights (bold mine): -  When we received this, we asked for clarification around all of these new to their Monday comprehensive proposal. They admitted that it was new to the comprehensive proposal and that in fact they knew it cost millions of dollars more. At that time, we said thank you very much, we understand and respect the union's position, but we believe that this is the definition of "regressive bargaining" and we informed the union we would call PERC, the Public Employment Relations Commission, to bring in a mediator. I left the room immediately to call PERC to try to get a mediator as soon as possible. Because we believed the union’s offer was regressive, we couldn’t continue to negotiate around their new document. Because if we did, that would be accepting this new document as the starting point of negotiations. Please kn...

And he also called the bus drivers to turn them back. The school was completely destroyed and there would have been massive fatalities and injuries without his quick thinking.  https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1QiUcAwFvE/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Here's the Bargaining Updates page . There is a notation at the top of the page that there will be daily press conferences starting Monday, August 31st. I will endeavor to try to attend. Here's their summary . Highlights:  -  A guaranteed salary increase of 2.6% in 2026-27, 3.6% in 2027-28, and 2.6% in 2028-29, totaling nearly  9% over three years. This is in addition to annual salary step increases, which average around 4% per year  for eligible employees. In comparison, management and non-represented staff will receive a 1.73% increase and are required to  take two furlough days. This means that the district's offer to SEA in the 2026-27 year is more than 2.5  times greater than what management and non-reps will receive. The creation of VEBA accounts for employees in 2026-27, with district contributions of $10 per month in  2027-28 and $15 per month in 2028-29 to support future health care needs after retirement. -  Because Special Education is ...