There are a number of labor hotspots around the state, and Kent might be the hottest. They've gone to impasse, which means that the state has entered the negotiations to try and reach an agreement, and there is a chance that they could go out on strike at the end of the month.
Something that's worth looking at is the
contract proposals that the Kent EA has made, particularly class size on page 2:
- They top out at 26 per class in grades K-3; we're 22 in kindergarten, 22 in 1st, 23 in 2nd, and 24 in 3rd.
- Their limit is 29 in grades 4-6; we top out at 26.
- Their limit is 29 in middle school and 31 in high-school, which is comparable to where we're at.
There's always room to improve, and here in year 2 of our three-year contract we've already got a couple of areas (CTE stipends and special ed case loads among them) that we're thinking about, but overall our skinny agreement stands very well side-by-side with the 100+ page contracts that some of the bigger districts have, and that's good for us.
We hope you had a great summer, and we'll see you soon!
With thanks,
--Ryan for the MLEA Exec Board--
