KENT, Wash. — There will be no school in the Kent School District on Tuesday due to an ongoing teacher strike, according to an email to parents from Kent Superintendent Isreal Vela.
Negotiations between the district and the teacher's union, the Kent Education Association, continued over the weekend, but the two parties made little progress.
"We know it is in the best interest of students to be in school and we recognize the hardship this creates for families," Vela said in an email to parents. "After experiencing the educational disruptions and emotional impacts of COVID-19, it is more important than ever that our students return to the classroom."
Teachers are demanding higher pay, more manageable caseloads and class sizes during contract negotiations.
The board held an executive session Monday at 5:30 pm followed by a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. to discuss a resolution that would have authorized the school district to bring a potential lawsuit against the Kent Education Association.
The four-member board voted in a 2-2 tie, which resulted in the resolution not going forward.
The district had called the strike unlawful and said the union is breaching its contract.
The special meeting agenda said: “Staff requests that the board approve Resolution No. 1630 authorizing the Kent School District (“District”) to seek injunctive relief against the Kent Education Association (“KEA”) for the reasons which follow:
"KEA members failed to show to work as scheduled Thursday and instead orchestrated an unlawful strike. KEA is therefore in breach of contract. The continued breach will cause immediate invasion of the rights held by the District and will result in actual and substantial injury to the District, its students, and community in the absence of an injunction ordering KEA members back to work.
"The strike continues unabated despite good faith proposals from the District. For example, on August 20, 2022 the District offered a 6.3 percent wage increase in year one, cost of living adjustments for two successive years, and $2,500 in stipends.
"Staff recommends passing Resolution No. 1630 authorizing, among other things, a lawsuit against the KEA to obtain an order directing KEA members back to work, setting appropriate fines against the KEA and its leadership for non-compliance with any such order, and requesting attorneys’ fees, costs, and any other such relief as the court deems just and equitable.”
Kent Education Association Vice President, Layla Jones told KING 5 the offer the district presented is not enough.
“To our members and our educators, this is a more about much more than just money," Jones said. "We are thinking about the classrooms that our students are in and we want those classrooms to be well resourced, and well-staffed."
Both sides said they are still working on negotiations.