Contract talks have started between Seattle Public Schools and its teachers’ union over two agreements that expire this summer.
With federal K-12 education funding up in the air, and the district facing a projected long-term revenue shortfall of more than $100 million a year, the Seattle Education Association proposed a one-year extension of the existing contract for certificated teachers in the hope of resuming talks when the district has a clearer — and, hopefully, rosier — financial outlook.
SEA President Girard Montejo-Thompson said the district proposed a two-year extension of the contract. Montejo-Thompson said the union wants to focus negotiations on the paraprofessional contract, which includes school secretaries, paraeducators who work with special education students, and other support staff…