Unless negotiators can come up with an 11th-hour save, it’s unlikely that Monday will be the first day of school in Kent.
“They bargained until a little after 5 (p.m. Saturday),” said Dale Folkerts, spokesman for the Kent Education Association, the union representing Kent’s teachers, who have been on strike since Thursday.
Speaking Saturday night, he noted, “at this point, it doesn’t look like we’re close to a tentative agreement.
“Hopefully it’s a better day tomorrow, but time is running short,” he added. “That clock’s ticking mighty fast.”
The union and administration will have another round of talks starting 10 a.m. Sunday. The KEA tentatively scheduled another meeting of its membership for 3 p.m. that day at Kentlake High School, if the two sides are able to hammer out a revised contract.
But with that kind of schedule, Folkerts said, the KEA would need a new contract in hand by noon. That means just two hours of negotiating time, he noted – most likely not enough to find common ground.
“We don’t have a resolution in sight,” Folkerts said, calling the district’s efforts to reach a compromise “baby steps.”
Kent School District spokesperson Becky Hanks, reached Saturday night from the local hotel where the talks have been taking place, said it was disappointing to hear Folkert’s characterization of negotiations.
“In response we’re disappointed that the Kent Education Association has already predetermined there will be in no progress made in Sunday’s session,” she said. “Because the truth is, the district has indeed responded to each issue related to (the union’s concerns of) time, work and compensation.”
Folkert, on the other hand, characterized the district’s proposals as “window dressing.”
Regardless of whether there’s another KEA membership meeting, the union will conduct an 8 p.m. candlelight vigil Sunday at Kent’s ShoWare Center, 625 W James St., Kent. The vigil will take place outdoors at the center’s plaza, in front of the building.
The vigil is open to the public.
For more information about the Kent School District’s position on the contract, visit: www.kent.k12.wa.us/webnav/default-non-std.aspx.
To learn about the KEA’s side, go to: www.kentea.org.
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