Education
(2009-09-04)
Listen Now:
null
Kent teachers meet at Auburn's Green River Comm. College following the judge's ruling declaring their strike illegal on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009.
Courtesy KING-TV.
The big contract issues - workload and time - remain to be solved.Kent educators say their demands aren't being taken seriously by the district. Their proof, they say, is that Kent is the only teacher labor dispute remaining in Washington. Kent Education Association spokesman Dale Folkerts says other districts have resolved tough issues, but the Kent School District decided to sue. Folkerts says legal action doesn't fix the problems.
"We're dealing with class size, because the classes are overcrowded here. We're dealing with not enough time for students because the administration insists on endless staff meetings before and after school, when the time would be better spent with teachers talking to kids that need extra help," Folkerts said, following the judge's ruling on Thursday.
Teachers say smaller class sizes are imperative and that some of their classrooms have as many as 45 students. They point out that challenging their workload is a large portion of the students in the diverse district do not speak English as a first language, meaning many students require additional help. The district says cutting average class size will cost nearly 3 million dollars, money it doesn't have. Not so, says Folkerts. He says the district has up to 8 million more in its reserves than the school board considers a minimum safe balance.
But Kent district spokeswoman Becky Hanks says the reserve, while prudent, would only last ten days were there an emergency.
"It's fine the first year, but it would not be fiscally responsible for us to commit to something where there wouldn't be money after one year," Hanks said.
Superintendent Edward Vargas issued a statement earlier in the week, defending the district's attempts to reach an agreement through a mediator. Vargas said too many children, parents and school district support staff are being hurt by the strike. He said suing the union was a tough decision to make.
Both sides are expected to continue bargaining through a mediator, and 26,000 kids - and their parents - are eagerly awaiting the outcome. Gary Davis, KPLU News.
© Copyright 2012, KPLU
