It took lawmakers three special sessions to come up with a state budget that allotted an additional $1.3 billion for education but still doesn’t satisfy the 2012 McCleary mandate that requires the state to fully fund public education (another $3.5 billion is still needed to do so).
And despite the $100,000-per-day fine from the Washington State Supreme Court that the Legislature has already accrued for not doing so, Gov. Jay Inslee has yet to call another special session; instead, he’s gathering a smaller bipartisan group later this month to come up with a funding plan.
The state Supreme Court itself also shocked about 1,200 students and their teachers by ruling 6-3 on Sept. 4 that public charter schools are unconstitutional because they aren’t “common schools” governed by elected boards. It took almost a year for the justices to come to the decision, and at least seven schools, including one in Seattle, had already opened for the school year by the time the ruling was made. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is urging the court to reconsider its decree, as it would affect other state-funded education programs, such as Running Start and certain vocational programs.
Charter schools remained open last week despite the ruling with the help of $14 million in private donations collected by the Washington Charter School Association. And while the legality of teacher strikes was questionable, the walkouts were the only option its members have to protest, SEA says.
Before this week, SEA had made headway with the district in regard to longer required recesses for elementary-schoolers and increased pay for substitutes. And it continued to negotiate for changes to standardized testing, consistent teacher evaluations, social equity in student disciplinary actions and smaller caseloads for support staff up until early Tuesday morning, when it reached a tentative agreement with the district. This was in addition to a better contract that would allow them to better afford living in Seattle.
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Larry Nyland, who’s been in the permanent position since January, has extensive experience managing districts after they’ve had long walkouts, but he hadn’t demonstrated how to end one.
At least he forewent further intervention with mediators and met directly with SEA negotiators over the weekend. Mayor Ed Murray even offered his assistance on Monday for the two parties to reach an agreement. That’s more than can be said of our elected state officials.
The school district reported that the strike is costing $100,000 per day — the same amount for the Legislature’s fine — and yet, there was more urgency on the district’s part to settle the walkout than the Legislature.
Families have shown where their support lies during this walkout with their own presence on the picket lines alongside their teachers and support staff. It’s about time the representatives they voted for showed their support by getting back to Olympia to complete their “paramount duty” to fund basic education. It’s the main reason Seattle was on strike, after 30 years without one.