Seattle schools to open on time after new superintendent calls out teachers union’s contract demands, bargaining tactics

“The district and the Seattle Education Association (SEA) have agreed to begin the school year on time while continuing to finalize a tentative collective bargaining agreement,” SPS said. “Negotiations have been ongoing throughout the summer, and both parties remain committed to reaching a final agreement as quickly as possible.”

The announcement removes the immediate threat that the labor dispute could interfere with the beginning of classes after 91 percent of SEA members voted to authorize a strike if the union did not reach a new agreement with the district.

Shuldiner responded to the threat with a blunt message. “Let me be absolutely clear, SEA does not have to strike,” Shuldiner wrote Sunday. “Period, full stop. If they do, that is completely up to them.”

Shuldiner noted that the union’s existing contract remains in place and accused SEA of potentially using a strike simply to demonstrate its power.

“There is absolutely no reason to strike other than to flex power,” Shuldiner wrote. “No one is ‘forcing’ the union to strike.”

The confrontation comes as Seattle Public Schools faces severe financial problems. The district entered the budget process confronting a gap of approximately $100 million after years of deficits, declining enrollment and repeated attempts to reduce spending. SPS has roughly 5,000 fewer students than it did in 2019, further reducing the revenue available to the district.

The School Board adopted a $1.34 billion general fund operating budget for 2026-27 on Aug. 26. While SPS says the budget closes the immediate deficit for the coming school year, the district acknowledges that its underlying structural deficit will continue without additional changes.

Balancing the budget required reductions to central budgets and school staffing, transportation efficiencies, spending down fund balance, delaying repayment to the district's Economic Stabilization Fund, and other spending reductions and cost-avoidance measures.

Those measures follow years of increasingly aggressive attempts to keep the district's finances afloat. SPS previously exhausted $42 million from its “Rainy Day” fund to balance its 2023-24 budget and later borrowed $27.5 million from its own capital program.

Against that backdrop, Shuldiner has been direct about what the district can afford. “As everybody knows, we’re broke, so we have to be really thoughtful around how we spend the money,” Shuldiner said Monday. “If we had the money, I would love to give it to everybody. But the problem is we don’t.”

Despite those financial constraints, Shuldiner has committed to approximately a 9 percent pay increase for educators over the next three years. Washington state provided a 2.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment for the upcoming school year, but SPS says it receives enough state funding to cover only roughly two-thirds of that increase. Non-union district employees received a 1.73 percent increase and were required to take two furlough days.

SEA's offer on the table has sought at least an 8.8 percent increase over three years, without furlough days and with an upside provision that could increase compensation further depending on future state funding.

Teacher compensation is already one of the district's largest expenses. According to SPS figures, total compensation for employees in its largest teacher cohort is approximately $142,584 before benefits or additional stipends.

Shuldiner has also called attention to how long it took negotiations to begin. The district asked SEA to begin bargaining on March 6, according to SPS. The union did not sit down with the district until June 25, leaving negotiators with only the summer to hammer out a new agreement before students returned to classrooms.

The superintendent has been particularly outspoken about negotiations over special education, one of the major issues cited by SEA in the contract dispute.

After weeks of negotiations and detailed proposals from SPS, the district said SEA submitted a formal counterproposal on the issue consisting simply of the words: “Special Education.”

SEA is led by President Ibijoke Idowu, who remains in the union's top position despite a Seattle Public Schools investigation that substantiated allegations regarding her treatment of special education students. The district investigation concluded it was “more likely than not” that Idowu grabbed a student by the arm hard enough to cause bruising and also substantiated allegations that she yelled at students.

Idowu, a special education teacher, had been placed on paid administrative leave in December 2025 while the allegations were investigated, but was still permitted to run for and win the SEA presidency. The investigation was forwarded to SPS Human Resources for possible disciplinary action; as of the completion of the district investigation, SPS had not announced a final employment decision.

Shuldiner's willingness to make those details public represents a noticeable departure from the carefully scripted rhetoric that has traditionally surrounded Seattle school labor disputes. Rather than allowing the union to portray the negotiations solely as a dispute over education funding, Shuldiner has publicly emphasized the district's financial constraints and argued that SPS has an obligation to reach a deal that works for both employees and students. “We are good faith bargainers who are trying desperately to negotiate a contract that is good for staff and students,” Shuldiner said.

For Seattle families, the immediate question has now been answered: school will start on time. “We know the uncertainty surrounding the start of school has been difficult for our students, families, and staff,” SPS said Tuesday. “We appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this process.”

The district added that despite the unresolved contract, SPS and SEA “share a commitment to our students and recognize the importance of beginning the school year as scheduled." Negotiations between the district and SEA will continue after students return to class.