Seattle teachers can finally rest easy now that their long-awaited contract has received approval by the school board… or can they?
On Wednesday, the Seattle School Board approved a three-year contract that turned out to be slightly more expensive than anticipated. By Aug. 31, 2025, when the contract expires, the district will have spent $231.18 million.
That’s a hefty sum to spend considering there’s no money in the budget, officials worry. Liv Finne, director of the Center for Education at Washington Policy Center, opined on the move in a post: “Why would school officials agree to spend money they don’t have? Because the state legislative session is only four months away,” she wrote. “Officials will go to Olympia and say schools are ‘underfunded’ and seek a bail-out. They will almost certainly get it.”
District officials earlier this month that the contract would only add to existing shortfalls in the budget. It’s possible the district will of $47.5 million in 2023-24 and would increase to $139 million in 2024-25.
“The Democrats in charge know they must keep their Seattle base happy or risk losing office,” wrote Finne. “Naturally, Governor Inslee will raise no objection. As a result, communities across the state will be forced to help pay for Seattle’s contract giveaway, but it will be rolled into the state budget, so it is likely few people will notice.”
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The teachers’ strike lasted five days, forcing the district to delay the first day of school. Teachers were fighting for higher pay, manageable workloads and smaller classroom sizes in special education and multilingual programs.
Classified and certified staff will be receiving a substantial pay raise of 14% over the next three years. Seattle Education Association members will receive a 7% increase this year. Employees will receive a 4% increase in the second year and a 3% bump in the third year.
Overall estimates will cost $51.9 million in the first year of the contract. That number will increase to $79.3 million in the second year and nearly $100 million in the third year.
Of the SEA’s 6,000 members, 4,143 of the new contract.
“Thank you to our incredible SPS families and our communities who stuck with us and supported us through this bargain,” the union said on their website. “We should be proud of what we achieved together.”
