SEATTLE — Seattle students are officially heading back to class.
The Seattle Education Association (SEA) and Seattle Public Schools (SPS) came to a tentative agreement Tuesday night - just hours before the first day of school.
The two have been in contract negotiations since last June. If a deal wasn’t reached by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, there was a chance that educators would strike.
The union tells KIRO 7 they have been asking for better pay, smaller and more manageable class sizes, and support for special education services.
Grades 1-12 students will begin classes on Sept. 2, while preschool and kindergarten students will begin classes on Sept. 8.
The tentative agreement remains subject to ratification by both parties. The Seattle Education Association membership and the Seattle School Board must each convene to consider and vote on the agreement. Dates for those votes have not yet been released.
“I am excited to welcome students, families, and staff back to school tomorrow. I am grateful for the hard work, thoughtful conversations, and shared commitment to Seattle’s students that resulted in this tentative agreement,” SPS Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said in a press release announcing the tentative agreement.
In the same press release, SEA Vice President and lead bargainer Davina Diaz said she looks forward to “a new, more positive and collaborative relationship with SPS.”
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