EATONVILLE, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video on western Washington schools facing teacher strikes originally aired September 12, 2022.
Eatonville teachers submitted a no confidence vote in Eatonville School District (ESD) Superintendent Gary Neal on Tuesday, the Eatonville Education Association (EEA) announced.
The union released a number of reasons why it no longer has confidence in Neal as the leader of the school district.
Among the complaints in the statement was a "failure" to meet stated goals on K-3 class sizes, as well as failing to meet state K-3 compliance ratios, which apparently cost the district over $400,000 in state allocation.
This is the first teacher strike in Eatonville's history, and the EEA claims a lack of good faith in the negotiations from the district.
"We request the Eatonville school board call for the immediate resignation of Superintendent Neal and take necessary actions to rebuild the broken trust between the district, our community, and our members. We need new leadership to move this district forward and work with, and not against, its educators and the community we serve," the EEA said in a statement announcing the no confidence vote.
Eatonville teachers have been on strike since Sept. 7, and the EEA has claimed the district "continues to decline offers to speak about issues educators would like to see addressed, such as class size, staffing and workload."
Neal has been superintendent for the Eatonville School District since the 2021-22 school year began, according to his bio on the district's website. He previously has experience working with school districts in Spokane, West Valley and Sequim.
KING 5 reached out to the district for a statement but hasn't heard back yet.