SEATTLE — On Wednesday night, Seattle School Board members approved a new contract with the Seattle Education Association while acknowledging the budget shortfall the district will face.
The overall total for the three-year contract agreement for Seattle teachers is approximately $228 million, according to Deputy Superintendent Rob Gannon who delivered that figure during a meeting earlier this month.
In the state's largest school district, the labor negotiations that led to educators on the picket lines and delayed the start of school by a week was followed by a new contract that provides additional support for students and pay raises.
“Seven percent in the first year, and then for the second and third years, it is IPD or 3%, then 4%, whichever is higher,” explained Jennifer Matter, the President of the Seattle Education Association, a union that represents 6,000 members.
The new three-year agreement means Seattle Public Schools is facing a nearly $190 million budget shortfall. The district says it can afford the additional cost this school year, but next school year, Gannon estimates a more than $47 million deficit.
"For the fiscal year 2024-25, the subsequent year, I forecasted a shortfall of $139.4 million,” Gannon told Seattle school board members on Wednesday night.
"These are very, very dark days ahead, and I think that we need to be very, very clear on that,” said Board Member Leslie Harris.
"It speaks volumes to the fact that our state currently does spend over 50% of its budget on K-12 education and that is clearly not enough,” said School Board President Brandon Hersey.
"They are going to have to look at their budget and maybe reprioritize some things,” said Matter.
As the district looks for ways to close the budget gap, Matter says it takes people working together.
"It will take our community, our city of Seattle, and the state to be able to support that vision because we know how important it is to make a public schools system people have confidence in,” said Matter.
The budget will be discussed at the next school board meeting on October 12.