Yakima Valley school officials stand firm to protect funding for student programs
Last week The Yakima Herald-Republic reported Yakima School Superintendent Jack Irion is under pressure from the WEA union to divert funding intended for student programs to provide double-digit pay increases to school employees. To their credit, Superintendent Irion and the Yakima School Board are standing firm.
The Yakima School District is not alone. This summer officials at 250 of Washington’s 295 districts have been negotiating new contracts with school employees. WEA union executives have been holding rallies at local school districts around the state, demanding up to 21 percent pay increases for teachers and 37 percent pay increases for non-teachers. Union executives are threatening strikes to close schools this fall in Seattle, Kent, Kennewick, Evergreen (Clark), Washougal and Tacoma.
To justify these threats, WEA union executives rely on a number of claims. First, the WEA claims the legislature intended McCleary funding to provide double-digit pay increases. Second, the WEA union claims teachers are not fairly paid. Third, the WEA claims strikes are justified to close schools to force districts to deliver these pay increases.
I will briefly reply to each claim, one at a time.
First, it is not true McCleary funding requires double-digit pay increases. The state supreme court held in McCleary that it was the paramount constitutional duty of the Legislature to increase funding to the schools, to reduce the state’s unconstitutional overreliance on local levies, to reduce funding inequities across the state, and to improve the quality of education students receive. The Legislature responded in good faith. Since 2009 state spending on K-12 schools increased from $12.9 billion in 2009 to $22.6 billion today. Included in this spending are increases to starting teacher salaries, increases to salary allocations, cost of living adjustments, regional living adjustments, and increases in health and benefit increases. As a result, teacher salaries in Washington have increased on average from $62,653 in 2010 to $71,000 in 2017-18, with increasing benefits.
But also included are increases for student programs, including $500 million to reduce class sizes in Kindergarten through 3rd grade, $527 million more to the Learning Assistance Program for struggling learners, more money to special needs students, and to many other student programs.
These programs for students are the programs threatened by the WEA’s double-digit pay demands.
Second, the question of whether teachers are fairly paid depends upon a lot of factors. In Yakima, for example, Yakima teachers make on average $68,300, plus $27,000 in benefits. This is an average of $65 an hour, while the workers in Yakima who pay their salaries make on average $30 an hour, including benefits. Certainly teachers in Yakima deserve a fairer pay structure, one based on merit, yet the WEA union insists on maintaining the current rigid, seniority based system of pay.
Third, the WEA is not justified in using strikes to close schools. Teacher strikes are illegal under state law. See RCW 41.56.120.
In standing firm, Yakima Superintendent Irion is fulfilling the will of the Legislature and of the state supreme court. Delivering dollars to benefit students is his paramount duty under McCleary, and everyone knows it, even the WEA union.