Any coverage of public education in this town is a win, but how about some new players in these articles next time? Stinson is Stranger insider who is frequently quoted/featured and has written op eds for them, not a new voice. There’s a fantastic Special Education PTSA who deserve a platform in the conversation, and a whole backstory over SPS’s special ed failings that deserves airtime too.

@2:

If SEA goes on strike, it will be because a majority of its members believe the district proposals don't meet the needs of teachers OR students, so in a very real sense they ARE "demanding reason from their leadership", which they expect to fight for decent wages and working conditions - that IS the job of leadership, after all.

Continuing to ask teachers to teach more students (particularly those with special needs) with fewer resources, to put in even more uncompensated time in the process, and then expect them to do it for even LESS money than they're making now is simply insulting.

@2: The solution to the strike is easy. Given the astronomically large salaries our current police earn, and the giant hiring bonus being offered, the City is clearly wasting money that would be better spent on education. If schools need money, then we need to stop wasting money on a police force that can not clean up its act.

@5, are you suggesting a city takeover of the schools? that’s one way to slide the dollars over and would create some accountability.

too few teachers? quitting? Obvious solution: pay them more, hire more, improve working conditions.

too few housing units? housing providers quitting? Obvious solution: take away property rights, dramatically increase complexity and risks of providing housing, and advocate for rent control.

this is the definition of cognitive dissonance.

My child is still playing catch-up from the past two years of disrupted learning (throw in her dyslexia and ADHD and that is even a higher hill to climb). I don’t see how striking is going to help students - hope the union reconsiders. And an aside for some of the commenters, SPS does not have a blank checkbook - McCleary has hurt our ability to fund above and beyond via levy (and with the big drop in enrollment, I don’t see the budget looking pretty, especially if a strike pushes more families out of public schools).

@9, none of that makes a lick of difference. Teacher strikes are powerful actions. And something that all teacher strikes have in common is the universal and urgent desire to make them end as quickly as possible. With this tremendous leverage, the union will eventually get much of what it wants, regardless of how much you and others cast aspersions. The district administration will predictably lose, big time, and I'll be glad for it when it happens.

@10, there is no secret pile of money that will be unlocked by a strike, there are only changes to work rules and operations that could possibly shift money around to pay for raises. We learned this in the 2015 strike when schools were closed for six days and teachers didn’t get the raises they wanted (everyone vowed to press the state for more money). Striking is a powerful tool, but parents are pretty burned out by continued disruption and the cycle of continued dysfunction and dropping enrollment is very unfortunate.

The teachers union has been

The teachers union has been trying to negotiation. The district has not been negotiating, as a tactic to make it appear otherwise.

I’m a special education Access teacher in the district. What has been conveyed in this article and other articles is an oversimplification of the changes the district is pushing forth. As a teacher with 22 years experience in special education, the changes would not be best for students.