Seattle Teachers Reach Deal With District To Avoid Strike

SEATTLE, WA - Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle teachers' union reached a tentative agreement Friday. The agreement will likely allow the district to avoid a teacher strike before the first day of school on Sept. 5.

Earlier in the day Friday, the district said that an agreement was close.

"We have every reason to believe that the team will reach a tentative agreement this weekend and that school will begin on Sept. 5.," the district wrote in a statement released Friday afternoon.

School will start Sept. 5 in Seattle, but teachers won't vote on the new agreement until Sept. 8.

Teachers in districts across the state have authorized strike votes over pay increases. The state Legislature set aside over $1 billion in the latest state budget for teacher pay due to the McCleary case. Teachers in Puyallup and Tacoma are also discussing a strike vote. Teachers in Clark County did strike this week, delaying the beginning of the school year.

In addition to teacher pay raises, Seattle teachers want more counselors, an expansion of race-based equity teams, and healthcare benefits for substitutes. The district did not disclose the terms of the tentative agreement reached Friday.

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch