No school as Seattle teachers, district keep talking; free meals available

Kids in Seattle will miss a fourth day of school on Monday.

The Seattle Education Association and Seattle public school officials continued to bargain over the weekend but by late Sunday afternoon they had not reached an agreement on a new contract for more than 6,000 educators and staff across the city.

School district officials said talks would continue into the night. The district emailed families Sunday afternoon saying there would be no school Monday for all grades including kindergarten and preschool, and that word about Tuesday classes would come Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the City of Seattle announced Sunday it will distribute free meals for students daily while the start to the school year remains delayed.

The city is partnering with Parent Teacher Student Associations and community groups to sign up volunteers to hand out meals prepared by the Seattle Public Schools’ culinary services team. The city previously had announced that it would open eight recreation drop-in sites for school-age students starting Monday.

The grab-and-go meals at 48 Seattle centers and parks will run from 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

At the bargaining table Sunday, union negotiators and district officials did come to agreements on smaller issues but have yet to compromise on big-ticket items — including pay increases and setting a ratio for school social workers to students.

Vaughan Amare, a union bargaining team member, said district officials are bargaining in good faith. He said negotiators with the union and the district made progress on smaller student-to-teacher ratios in special education and multilingual programs.

But the same can’t be said on other points, Amare said. When the union presented a proposal for setting a ratio of at least one school counselor or social worker to every 250 students, the district crossed out the proposal and offered no suggestions or alternatives.

“It’s hard to present a proposal and then get it sent back with no ideas,” Amare said.

Assistant Superintendent Beverly Redmond also said the district continues to bargain in good faith.

“They’re again in today and they will be going late into the night,” Redmond said. “We are hopeful that we will reach agreement soon.”

A 1:250 ratio of social worker to students is recommended by the National Association of Social Workers. It would make caseloads more manageable for school social workers in Seattle, who are typically understaffed.

The 700 students at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School have one social worker, Carrie Syvertsen, to go to, she said last week.

Educators with Seattle Public Schools, the state’s largest school district with an enrollment of about 50,000 students, went on strike Sept. 7.

Union and district leaders both say they want to use a more inclusionary model in special education, so students receiving services can spend as much time as possible in general education classrooms. But educators worry that the district isn’t providing enough support staff — instructional aides and paraeducators — to make that possible.

Seattle was the second large school district in King County to go on strike this fall, and it is the only district still picketing. Kent School District educators, who went on strike Aug. 25, were able to resolve their contract after nine days, reaching an agreement with the district Sept. 7.

Kent teachers went back to work Sept. 8. Neither side has been willing to share the tentative agreement, which will be up for a School Board vote Sept. 14.