It was a busy weekend for teachers unions and districts across Washington state who are in active contract negotiations.
The Washington Education Association says there are more than 200 groups still negotiating contracts. The majority of those are teachers’ unions, and some have voted to authorize strikes if a deal is not reached in the coming days.
From Tumwater to Everett, negotiating teams spent the weekend behind closed doors while teachers and parents rallied outside.
Everett Education Association President Jared Kink told a group Sunday morning that it had been “a hard week.”
“We’ve been meeting with the district periodically behind the scenes, trying to get stuff done setting the table for today, but what has really pushed them this week is you this week marching,” he said.
With money from the McCleary decision putting more funding into districts, teacher pay is a big issue in many communities. Districts say it's not that simple and point to a cap on levy money.
