How Seattle Schools got the deal done to avert a teachers strike

Claire Bryan, The Seattle Times on Sep 3, 2026

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SEATTLE — Educators were surprised, and relieved, that their union and Seattle Public Schools were able to eke out a deal at the very last hour, avoiding a strike that would have delayed the start of the school year.

Parents were relieved too, albeit also annoyed they didn’t find out until 11 p.m. whether their young ones would be going to school the next day.

Superintendent Ben Shuldiner, who was at the bargaining table throughout the process, said during a Wednesday morning news conference that he’s “very, very proud” of the tentative agreement.

Details of the collective bargaining agreement between the Seattle Education Association and SPS are still being finalized, and have not been made public as of Wednesday evening. Once it’s finalized, the tentative agreement will need to be reviewed and ratified by the union members and then by the Seattle School Board.

Union members will vote on the tentative agreement at a general membership meeting on Sept. 11 at McCaw Hall, in Seattle Center.

But it’s clear that negotiations resulted in two noteworthy wins for SEA, the union representing 6,000 SPS teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries, counselors and other staff.

After weeks spent deadlocked over the district’s proposed changes to special education staffing and structure, the tentative agreement creates an 18-month “community-centered process” to develop a new approach to special education programming, according to an email sent to union members late Tuesday night and reviewed by The Seattle Times.

Shuldiner said Wednesday the hope is to roll out a pilot of a new special education program by the third year of the contract.

And the contract secures a cost of living increase “plus more” for all union members, with additional increases for paraprofessionals, certain office and clerical staff, and other classified staff — meaning those who don’t hold a state certificate, according to the union email. A union spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of what the “plus more” equated to.

On Wednesday morning, Shuldiner said the final raises were “a little higher” than the 8.8% raise over three years he initially shared Sunday, in a public message detailing the district’s then-current offer. But, he added, the salaries outlined in the tentative agreement are “well within our ability to fund.” The district budget approved by the School Board at the end of August “is close to” the salary levels outlined in the tentative agreement, he said.

Seattle School Board President Gina Topp said the board will plan to vote on the contract at its next regular meeting, scheduled for Sept. 16, though she left open the possibility of a special board meeting to approve the contract sooner.

While bargaining sessions often hinge on wage proposals, in this case, special education was one of the largest sticking points during negotiations, which started back in June. Some parents and teachers had voiced a desire to take special education off the bargaining table and not let it be the reason why teachers went on strike.

Shuldiner dismissed that suggestion as recently as Monday afternoon, saying the collective bargaining agreement included too many structural elements for the district to punt on special education staffing and organization.

“If we are going to make systemic change to the district we need our labor partners, especially SEA, to really be a part of it,” he said at Monday’s news conference.

Despite this, Shuldiner and the union found a way to agree just about 24 hours later.

Shuldiner told The Times on Wednesday morning that the pilot program will be “substantial,” and allow the district to make “some really important structural changes.”

“It will really rethink the way that we are providing (special education) services for children,” Shuldiner said. “If it goes well, we would like to expand it to the whole district. And if it doesn’t go well, we can iterate.”

The pilot program will explore whether the current four special education “pathways” can all be provided in each school, removing the need for students to move from school to school depending on the type of services they need, Shuldiner said.

“I don’t think it was a compromise,” Shuldiner said. “I think we got to a place that really makes a lot of sense for all of us.”