This and That, August 24, 2026

 I meant to post this sooner - this event is tomorrow night, the 25th.

I am hearing that Governor Bob Ferguson and State Superintendent Chris Reykdal are thinking about "tax credit scholarships" - that's code for vouchers. I'm sure the Governor and Superintendent are getting pressure from many groups for this nonsense. 

Folks, you do not want this to come to pass. Please contact one or both leaders with this message:

"Any type of voucher scheme has never been proven to truly support students in lower-income brackets. Our schools are already suffering from not having certain areas like Special Education and transportation fully funded. Please don't weaken these already struggling districts by introducing any type of voucher, "scholarship" or "education opportunity." 

Governor Bob Ferguson

Superintendent Chris Reykdal

Seattle Education Association Contract Talks

To state, a strike by SEA is NOT in ANYONE's best interest. Not SPS nor SEA. 

According to the SEA:

- As of August 22nd, they had found agreement with SPS on 7 out of 57 issues.

- However, I also see this on Facebook:

From the post, it sounds like many SEA members are not happy that their newly-elected president was placed on administrative leave from her position but that was not told to members when they voted.

- They also state, in their Members Update:

SEA is gaining strength and support and we’re ready for a fight if SPS wants one.

Long story short, the district just isn’t coming to the table with enough to address the pressurization that’s getting in the way of our students’ learning and success. They propose restructuring, cuts, reductions, reallocations; our students deserve better. We are continuing the fight for a student-centered contract, and all members need to be ready to fight, too.

Today while members talked to neighbors and business owners, the bargaining team once again gathered at JSCEE to talk with the district and explore creative approaches to the problems we’re facing.
Long story short, the district just isn’t coming to the table with enough to address the pressurization that’s getting in the way of our students’ learning and success. They propose restructuring, cuts, reductions, reallocations; our students deserve better. We are continuing the fight for a student-centered contract, and all members need to be ready to fight, too.
Today while members talked to neighbors and business owners, the bargaining team once again gathered at JSCEE to talk with the district and explore creative approaches to the problems we’re facing.

We talked with the district about three issues today:

Special Education

Virtual option

Curriculum-embedded assessments

- Their General Membership Meeting is this Wednesday at the Seattle Convention Center. At this meeting, they could either vote to authorize a strike OR that a tentative agreement has been reached.

Authorizing a strike does NOT mean they WILL go on strike but that membership agrees it may be needed.

- They say in their Community Update (partial):

We are committed to bargain from 9am to 9pm nearly every day from now until September 2nd, the first day of school. But as the 18 sessions show, it’s not time at the bargaining table that makes a difference—it’s the willingness to make compromises and move toward agreement.

The district is not being responsive on the subjects that hold the greatest weight for our students and members: pressurization and wages. When we say pressurization, we mean relief from the increases in caseload, class size, and workload that take our time and focus away from students and lead to burnout. And when we talk about wages, we mean making sure all SPS employees can afford to live in the city where we work—with larger wages for lower-paid workers—to help create more continuity and stability for students.

We understand the district has budget problems, but it also has budgeting problems. Budgets are moral documents that show who matters, and who doesn’t. The spending on highly-paid administrators paints a clear picture of priorities that don’t align with what our students need, and this is just one example. SEA is digging into the district’s annual $1.3 billion budget and finding that part of the problem is state funding. And part of the problem is the district’s misplaced priorities.

So that line - "...the district has budget problems but it also has budgeting problems" is a good one.

And "misplaced priorities?" I would love to know what that means to the SEA.

- To note, the teachers will get a cost of living bump of 2.6% for 2026-27 funded through the state's compensation formula. 

Update: what the SEA wants in terms of money:

additional salary increases of 1.5% in 2026-27, 2% in 2027-28 and 2.5% in 2028-29

I'm hearing chatter that, of course the other unions as well as some elected officials would likely side with teachers if they went on strike. Okay but their customers are parents. And enrollment is already going down.

I'm not so sure that I believe the public will overwhelmingly side with SEA. Shuldiner does have a tough needle to thread but he is got good vibes on his side so I think he'll come up with something creative.



A good story from KUOW on the advancement of Native American curriculum in Washington State.

She (Elese Washines) and others had invited educators to preview the newly published Suquamish Since Time Immemorial curriculum for middle and high school. Washines and others have spent more than a decade creating the curriculum. It’s part of a state-mandated effort to highlight tribal history and culture in public schools.

Representatives from at least eight school districts attended the Suquamish curriculum presentation, including officials from Kitsap County school districts, Seattle Public Schools, and tribal educators from as far away as the Olympic Peninsula.

Background

In 2005, a law went into effect in Washington state that urged public school districts to work with neighboring federally recognized tribes to build out a curriculum teaching tribal history. That law then became a mandate in 2015, requiring a generalized curriculum called “Since Time Immemorial” to be taught in all schools. But that was only a first step while more local tribally developed curriculums were created and integrated.

Tribal historians and elders have spent decades pulling their curriculum together and facing roadblocks along the way. Part of that is government-to-government relationships.

Lawrence said about 15 nearby school districts are required to collaborate and support the Suquamish Tribe and incorporate its curriculum. A 2026 report from the Washington State Board of Education shows that statewide 26% of school districts or local education agencies “reported not yet fully implementing the law.”

That means 85 of the 325 Washington school districts haven’t collaborated with local tribes to incorporate their specific material. Much of that work has been at a standstill since 2015, according to the report.