Seattle Education Association (SEA), the union that represents upwards of 5,000 educators, began contract negotiations with Seattle Public Schools (SPS) last week. The two groups have 23 bargaining dates scheduled this summer in hopes of reaching a teacher contract agreement before Aug. 31, when the educator’s current contract is set to expire.
Students in grades one through 12 are set to return to school on Sept. for the start of the 2026-2027 school year. Preschool and kindergarten students are scheduled to return Sept. 8.
Teachers hope to walk away from negotiations with a multi-year contract, according to a KUOW report.
The union is seeking a multi-year agreement after members approved a one-year contract extension in 2025. With increasingly high gas, grocery and other basic costs, union negotiators say teachers need stability. SEA leaders are looking for new contract that includes wage increases, more training, and addresses educator concerns over workloads and large class sizes — and they say, if necessary, they will call on teachers and the broader community to reach that goal. The last time the Seattle Education Association and SPS agreed to a multi-year contract with a wage increase was in 2022, following a five-day teachers’ strike.
“Our plan is to partner with the district and work together to improve our student and staff experiences,” wrote SEA President Ibi Idowu in a June 18 community update. “It should become clear quickly if our priorities are not aligned. Should that happen, we will utilize support from both SEA members and the community to build the power that is critical to win at the bargaining table.”
Since the 2022 negotiating cycle, both Seattle Public Schools and the state of Washington have come up against significant budget deficits. At a recent media roundtable event, Superintendent Ben Shuldiner pulled no punches when he said SPS is “structurally insolvent.”
“The latest information we showed is that we were going to be insolvent in about 10 months,” Shuldiner said at the meeting. “If the [Seattle School] Board approves our new budget, we’ll have staved off insolvency for one more year, but it’s getting really bare bones, folks.” The SPS Board will hold a public hearing on the 2026-27 recommended budget on July 8 with the board expected to vote on a budget within the next few months.
Regarding the current negotiations, district spokesperson Beverly Redmond said in a statement: “We look forward to partnering with SEA to reach a robust, student-centered CBA [collective bargaining agreement] that reflects our employees’ dedication while recognizing the district’s fiscal realities.”
In a June 18 update to union members, SEA Vice President and bargaining lead Davina Diaz said the union is coming to the table well-armed with information.
“We’ve been working for months to get ready for bargaining, and we’re going in well prepared, well researched, and well supported,” Diaz wrote. “Our team has met and gone over our proposals and our strategy at the bargaining table. We’ve gotten support from WEA [Washington Education Association] to do a deep dive on SPS finances and what they can afford.”
Diaz added that she is holding “a mindset of hope for the best.”
