Mediation began Wednesday between the Kent Education Association and the Kent School District in hopes of averting a strike that could delay the start of the school year.
With school scheduled to begin Aug. 31, both sides have expressed their desire to reach a settlement in the contract dispute which has played out over the course of the year and heated up this summer.
But with discussions seeming to go nowhere, the district on Aug. 14 declared an impasse in negotiations and officially requested mediation from the Washington Public Employee Relations Commission, a request joined by the KEA.
According to officials from the state, experienced mediator Guy Coss was assigned to help the two sides reach an agreement. Coss was scheduled to meet with both parties beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
KEA officials staged a rally in support of their bargaining unit Wednesday morning at Mill Creek Middle School before contract mediation officially began.
The union has repeatedly stated its issues are “time, workload and compensation” and has put forth a proposal of more than 30 points organized under those headings, including lower class sizes, fewer meetings for teachers and a salary increase.
The district countered with a proposal that offered an increase in total compensation for all teachers and maintains class sizes at their current level. In order to find the money for the pay increases, the district cut $3.4 million from administration and central office costs and an additional $3.2 million from programs, based on community priorities gleaned from a series of workshops this past winter.
The union’s proposal was approximately twice what the district offered.
The district proposal, however, stated that if it was rejected, it would be pulled completely off the table. The union rejected the offer Aug. 12.
The state-assigned mediator does not have the authority to compel either side to reach an agreement or accept any item, but the hope is that a fresh set of eyes may be able to clarify each side’s position for the other and offer suggestions to move along negotiations.
The next KEA member meeting is scheduled for Aug. 26 and unless a settlement can be reached, the union has stated it will take a strike vote at that time.
For more information about the negotiations and the differences between the two sides, visit www.kentschools.org (KEA site) or www.kent.k12.wa.us (official District site).
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