Tacoma Teachers Strike Raising Awareness in Clover Park School District

Lakewood public school officials say the teachers strike in Tacoma has had minimal impact on the Clover Park School District and its 800 certified teachers.

CPSD spokesperson Kim Prentice said they have received a couple telephone inquiries from Tacoma families about transferring their child to a Lakewood school.

Prentice said no students, however, have been switched to a CPSD facility as a result of the strike. The strike has lasted for a week. Negotiations ran into the early morning on Tuesday between the Tacoma teachers union and the school district.

There's still no sign as to when the strike will end, said Matt Creaser, a fifth-grade elementary teacher for the school district.

The strike has not had an immediate impact on Lakewood educators, but it has had a secondary effect, according to Sam Fitzgerald, president of the Clover Park Education Association.

Lakewood teachers have supported the Tacoma teachers strike by picketing during their personal time. The Clover Park teachers union contributed $500 to help pay for a recent negotiation meeting this past week, Fitzgerald said.

The CPEA also wrote a letter supporting TEA.

"As educators, it affects us because it's issues we feel strongly about," Fitzgerald said. "But it's not affecting us day-to-day."

Fitzgerald said the strike has brought a heightened sense of awareness to Lakewood.

"The proximity is a factor," he said. "When there was a strike in Kent or Marysville, it's not the same as your next-door neighbor. It puts things in context. If it's happening next to you, it could be happening to you."

It has been more than 20 years since a teachers strike in Lakewood has occurred. The CPEA membership reached a two-year contract agreement through 2013 on June 27.

Tacoma and Lakewood teachers unions started negotiating at the same time in the spring, but Lakewood limited their bargain to several issues.

In the midst of negotiation, the CPEA agreed to a 1.9 percent pay cut due to the state operating budget, which the district has agreed to cover, Fitzgerald said. Other bargaining measures included a more solid professional development structure and a different teacher evaluation tool.