Snohomish Education Association Teacher Ratifies Agreement

Snohomish Ratification Vote is Overwhelming

Today the members of the Snohomish Education Association overwhelmingly ratified their tentative agreement, thus bringing their 21-day strike to a successful close. The vote tally was 445 yes votes and 5 no votes.

"Respect, dignity, trust, loyalty, honor and solidarity," says SEA President Kit Raney. "These are the words that drive our bargaining team and our membership. This strike was about each of those words. We ratified a fair and reasonable contract today that will allow the Snohomish School District to continue attracting and retaining high quality educators. This in turn allows the students of Snohomish to continue receiving an excellent education."

"I would also like to formally thank the parents and community members of Snohomish. The support and love they consistently demonstrated for their teachers made this difficult situation just a bit easier. Our members are ready and anxious to return to school tomorrow with our students, the reason we are in this profession."

It is expected the Snohomish School Board will ratify the tentative agreement today also, thus allowing the Snohomish schools to open tomorrow for the first day of school.

Negotiators for the 470-member Snohomish Education Association and the Snohomish School district began bargaining last May. The teachers have been on strike since September 4.

There are more than 8,000 students in Snohomish's 14 schools.