Seattle’s public school superintendent issued a blunt warning as the new school year is set to begin, declaring the district is “broke” as it grapples with a multimillion-dollar budget hole while its educators union threatens to strike.
“Let me be absolutely clear, SEA does not have to strike,” Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said in a letter posted Sunday. “Period, full stop. If they do, that is completely up to them. They have a contract that they signed and it will continue. The current contract they are working under remains in place. We are not the NFL owners who lock out our players trying to exact concessions or give-backs.”
KOMO News reported Wednesday that 91 percent of Seattle Education Association members, including teachers and staff, approved a strike authorization vote if the union does not get a new contract with Seattle Public Schools with higher pay and benefits.
KOMO reported, “The district is facing a budget gap of around $100 million.”
Special education supports, pay and decreasing pressure on educators were the “major sticking points” for the teacher’s union pursuing the strike, according to KOMO News.
“We are good faith bargainers who are trying desperately to negotiate a contract that is good for staff and students,” Shuldiner continued. “And the district has been clear that we would always be willing to provide retroactive pay, if they don’t strike, when a new contract is signed. There is absolutely no reason to strike other than to flex power. No one is ‘forcing’ the union to strike. There is no Special Education agreement unless the union votes for one. There is only a desire to work together for the betterment of the district.”
KOMO News reported Monday that Shuldiner again committed to a 9% pay increase over the next three years for educators in the district, but said that the district is in dire financial straits and needs to be watching its spending more carefully.
“As everybody knows, we’re broke, so we have to be really thoughtful around how we spend the money,” Shuldiner said Monday at a news conference. “If we had the money, I would love to give it to everybody. But the problem is we don’t.”
KOMO News reported that Seattle Public Schools has an approximate $100 million budget deficit after earlier attempts to cut costs, including a proposal to close and consolidate schools, faced pushback from employees and community members.
The district ultimately abandoned the school-closure plan, instead opting to pursue other operational savings while seeking additional money from state lawmakers and local levy revenue, according to KOMO News. Enrollment for SPS is also significantly down with about 5,000 fewer students enrolled now when compared to 2019.
Shuldiner, who was appointed in November, said in February, “The first thing we have to do is stop spending money we don’t have.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Jason Rantz, host of The Jason Rantz Show, said, “For years the Seattle Education Association has been able to say pretty much anything it wants about bargaining because the district never responded. They were too cowardly to.”
Rantz added, “Shuldiner answered with receipts. He showed that the union sat on the district’s request to start bargaining for almost four months, that its response to a special education overhaul was a pathetic two-word proposal, and that the teachers on the most common salary line earn $142,584 in total wages. None of that is a talking point. Shuldiner is brave. People need to realize: this kind of pushback never happens.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Shuldiner and the Seattle Education Association for comment.
