In Our View: Students Come First

The problem with teacher strikes is that students inevitably get caught in the middle.

Sure, teachers can say they are interested only in improving student outcomes. Yes, they can attempt to make their walkout as painless as possible for children and parents. But in the end, kids are the ones who are impacted the most.

Such is the case with a wave of one-day strikes taking place throughout Washington, as teachers aim a message toward lawmakers in Olympia. In Clark County, several teachers unions plan to have members vote on whether to walk off the job May 13 in protest of the Legislature’s inattention to issues facing public education. Rick Wilson, executive director of the Vancouver Education Association, characterized the proposal as “a day of action and not against the district. Our district was one of the first to jump on the McCleary lawsuit to fully fund education. The district can only do so much. We need to put pressure on the Legislature to do the right thing.”

The McCleary v. Washington lawsuit paved the way for a 2012 decision from the state Supreme Court mandating that lawmakers fully fund K-12 education. But, as the Legislature delves into a special session with one of the primary goals being to meet that mandate, teachers across the state are not limiting their desires to state funding. Their list of grievances also includes a lack of cost-of-living raises, which have been approved by voters; a lack of increases in benefits (although they receive copious vacation time); inattention to Initiative 1351, which was approved by voters to reduce class sizes; and a desire that standardized student tests not be used in teacher evaluations.

Last week, teachers in several school districts in the Puget Sound area staged one-day walkouts, with many of those coming in districts where students already were off school for a day of teacher training. Saturday, more than 4,000 educators rallied in Olympia to spread their message. These actions did not disrupt the schedules of students and parents.

And while leaders of the teachers union in Evergreen Public Schools note that May 13 is scheduled as a half-day for elementary students, that is not the case in Vancouver Public Schools. Having children out of school in either case will force parents to find day care on short notice. Not that the unions are unaware of the burdens. Rob Lutz, president of the Evergreen Education Association, said: “Should there be sufficient support that school be canceled May 13, we plan to partner with the district to keep all sporting events — the things kids look forward to each day — to keep those going.” Still, disruptions will be inevitable; giving students a day off on May 13 will require that an extra school day be added at the end of the school year.

Civil protest has a long and cherished history in this country, dating to the nation’s founding, and we applaud teachers and their supporters for seeking improved working conditions. Yet while teachers have every right to express their opinions, the unions’ assertions often come across as disingenuous. Focusing on ancillary issues such as standardized testing seems like an attempt to obfuscate the fact that money is at the heart of the complaints — as it typically is in labor disputes. “It’s simply not enough,” Larry Delaney, a teacher and union representative at Lakewood High School in Arlington, told Reuters news service. “Benefits, pay, that’s an issue. But what resonates with our members is kids first.”

That would be more believable if kids were not the ones to suffer when teachers walk off the job.