Educators Voice Concerns At School District Budget Meeting Hoping To Avoid Strike

"I can't go into a classroom and be everything to everyone, all of my colleagues here and in the district, we are not martyrs, we are professionals, we need to be treated as such..." - Kelli Haines, Shorecrest English teacher.

With many items still not agreed upon between educators, staff, and school district officials, a large room full of educators attended the Shoreline School District budget meeting on Tuesday evening, August 26, 2025. Several commenters also submitted comments online. Despite the recent school levy passing, the District says it'll have a surplus of almost $5 million (0.9%), which is well below what it should be for the district to meet its cash flow requirements and cover unexpected costs. 

Slide from SSD budget meeting on 8/26/2025

The theme of the evening was "We voluntarily made concessions to help meet budget shortfalls, which were hard on us, and it worked. Now it's time to do what's right, and let's get back to focusing on our students."

From an undisclosed teacher union source: "If we
don’t have an agreement by the September 2nd General Membership meeting, we will take a vote on a job action, up to and including a strike.” One undisclosed principle, however, said they're confident a satisfactory agreement will be reached before school starts. 

According to a source not authorized to speak publicly, after a weekend of marathon bargaining, Shoreline’s teacher bargaining team says little progress has been made in contract negotiations with the school district.

Union leaders reported that on Sunday night, they worked late into the evening to prepare and present a comprehensive 89-page proposal addressing all unresolved issues. They said the intent was to give the district ample time on Monday to craft a counteroffer for Tuesday morning.

However, union members stated that they did not receive the district’s response until late afternoon on Tuesday. Negotiations then stretched into the evening, with district representatives outlining why they could not commit additional time, money, or resources to support educators and students. Talks wrapped up around 7:30 p.m.

Union negotiators said they have now entered a caucus and are working on a counterproposal. Their stated priority remains supporting Shoreline students and educators. “We have a long way to go to help the District understand it’s their job to do the same”.