by David Mendez
The Shoreline Educational Support Professional Association and the Shoreline School District have averted a strike, reaching a tentative agreement Friday afternoon.
“We’re proud of the collaborative work both teams put in to reach this agreement. We’re grateful for the strong support of our members, and we wholeheartedly recommend the agreement for ratification,” SESPA Co-President Mario Orallo said in a statement to The Osprey on Friday.
“The parties are proud to have worked together to reach an agreement that supports students, employees, and families,” the school district said in a letter to parents announcing the deal. The letter also confirms that school will be in session on Monday, Sept. 14.
The deal comes one day after the members of SESPA — the union representing office workers, paraeducators, nurses, crossing guards and more school staffers — voted to authorize a strike. The strike would have started Monday, had the two sides not reached a deal.
Shoreline teachers would have supported their colleagues by refusing to cross the picket line, had a strike been called. At a meeting this week, 99% of Shoreline Education Association members voted in favor of supporting a SESPA work action.
A pay raise was at the foundation for this bargaining cycle, SESPA members and leaders told The Osprey.
They sought to win pay increases that made the district more competitive with neighboring districts like Seattle Public Schools, Northshore School District or Edmonds School District. Each of those districts have pay scales that outpaced Shoreline’s staff pay, particularly among paraeducators — instructional aides who are often deployed to work with students with special needs.
Details about the tentative agreement haven’t been made public. A majority of SESPA members must vote to ratify the agreement, allowing it to become a codified contract between the union and the district. That vote is scheduled to take place Wednesday.
A tentative agreement is a significant step in the process, but the work isn’t over. Recent history shows that SESPA members are willing to push back if the deal isn’t good enough. In 2023, SESPA rejected the 2023 tentative agreement with a “decisive no,” saying that the district’s “best offer” cut more than $1 million in salaries and about 30 staff jobs, per KOMO.
However, Orallo feels good about the agreement’s chances.
“I think the team is feeling pretty confident that our members are going to feel seen and heard throughout this process. I can’t get into the details, but some of the stuff that we did was pretty historic when it comes to salary schedules and fixing para pay,” Orallo said in an interview.
“Does it fix everything? No,” he added. “But golly, it’s a really exciting start.”