Message from Clyde Hill Elementary Principal Jennifer Benson

School regrettably remains closed for another day. Negotiations between the Bellevue School District and the Bellevue Education Association (BEA) resumed again today at 11 AM. I continue to remain hopeful we will make progress toward a resolution and negotiated agreement soon.

Here is a thoughtful, fact-filled letter from Jennifer Benson, the Principal of Clyde Hill, my former elementary school:

Dear Clyde Hill Families,

School regrettably remains closed for another day.  Negotiations between the Bellevue School District and the Bellevue Education Association (BEA) resumed again today at 11 AM.  I continue to remain hopeful we will make progress toward a resolution and negotiated agreement soon.

Some of you have asked questions about the District’s proposal to the BEA.  Here is a summary pertaining to pay raises, benefits, and curriculum you might find helpful:

Teacher pay raises
This is the area in which the two sides are miles apart. The union’s 3-year pay proposal is about twice what the district is offering.

The basic salary schedule is controlled by the State; school districts supplement this with local levy funds.

District offer for 2008-09 is 6.6% pay increase, with 5.1% coming from the state and 1.5% from local tax dollars.

Bellevue teachers’ supplemental pay is the highest among teachers in this area (as reported to the state) and the district’s offer will keep them in the top spot.

1. Bellevue School District                    $11,061
2. Seattle                                           $10,330
3. Northshore                                    $  8,649
4. Renton                                          $  7,407
5. Lake Washington                            $  7,254
6. Issaquah                                       $  6,757

Average teacher pay in 2007-08:  $58,500 without benefits; with benefits, $80,000

There is no more money without reductions in people and programs and increases in class sizes.

Possible outcomes of funding three-year pay raises at the level the BEA requests:

• More pay, but for fewer teachers (approximately 62.5 fewer teachers)
• Increases in class sizes, especially in middle and high schools (3 students on average, 1 because of this year’s district budget cuts and 2 that would result from meeting union proposal.)
• Reduction in other staff positions
• End of the 7-period day in middle and high schools ( approximately 30 teachers)
• Other reductions, such as in gifted programming, elective classes, including art and music, and extracurricular sports programs

Health Benefits
Our situation with health care costs is the same one affecting businesses across the nation. The premiums for medical coverage for 2008-09 increased 7.5% for the Premera Plans and 11.41% for the Group Health Plans. The benefits allocation we receive from the state only increased 3.54%.

The benefit offer from the District to the teachers for the duration of the contract includes a guaranteed District contribution of $350,000 to the insurance pool, which is an increase of $50,000 from the previous contract.  In addition, the District agreed to leave in the benefits pool approximately $660,000 it is currently spending beyond the state allocation for benefits.  That would result in over 420 of the 1200 teachers paying nothing out of pocket for their benefits.  Out-of-pocket increases for all others would range from $6.00 to $62.00 per month.  The highest amount would be for a part-time teacher with full family coverage.

The actual impact on out-of-pocket costs after the first year of the contract would depend on subsequent rate increases from the insurance carriers and what additional funding comes from the State.

Common Curriculum
The common curriculum, which is published on the district curriculum web rather than stored in the 3-ring binders of the past, consists of a collection of goals, objectives, lessons, assessments and materials. Lessons have been developed by teams of Bellevue teachers, often with assistance from outside experts from the private sector, universities and the College Board.

For students, the common curriculum provides quality and consistency and leaves less to chance.  Students can transfer from one school to another within the district and not have to play catch-up. They don’t miss key concepts and they don’t repeat them unnecessarily, something that occurred when every teacher was developing lessons alone, without collaborating with peers.  The common curriculum, which prepares students for challenging college prep courses in high school, has allowed Bellevue’s high schools to be on Newsweek’s list of top U.S. high schools since 2003.

Parents also have access to all the web lesson materials except for assessments. They can find out what lessons are being taught and the homework expectations.  This has allowed them to keep better tabs on their student’s progress and provide more support.

The common curriculum has been seen as a great benefit by first-year teachers, because it saves them from having to invent a year’s worth of lessons from scratch.

In its latest bargaining proposal, the district has expressed agreement with teachers that they should have the freedom to modify and adapt lessons to meet their students’ needs.  On occasions when teachers create new lessons, they would be expected to submit lessons they found to be effective for possible inclusion in the curriculum. This has the effect of increasing the pool of lessons available to all teachers in that particular subject area and grade.

As I shared in yesterday’s email, if you and/or our students want to come by to talk about what is going on, please email me or give me a call.  I’d love the opportunity to explain the District’s offer and why we believe it is a good one for both our teachers and for our kids’ education, while still keeping the District financially sound.  Further, if you have any questions, please ask.  If I do not know the answer, I will find out.

Negotiations continue between the Bellevue School District and the Bellevue Education Association.

I continue to remain hopeful we will be welcoming everyone back to school very soon.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Benson, Principal
425.456.5000
bensonj@bsd405.org