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Seattle School Board members and Supt. Larry Nyland are promoting misleading information about their pay proposals.

The school board wants the public and media to think we’re only striking over pay raises. That’s false. We all know that we’re also on strike to achieve reasonable testing, fair evaluations, work-load relief and student equity.

The board’s PR strategy is not going to work. It’s time to set the record straight. Here’s where both sides were on Tuesday, the last time we ex-changed proposals:

Seattle School Board

Support professionals: 2 percent, 3.2 percent and 3.75 percent, for a total of 8.95 percent over three years.

Certificated staff: 2 percent and 3.2 percent, plus 4 percent in the third year, requiring that teachers work 20 minutes longer every day in the third year (a 4.8 percent increase in work time). Total of 5.2 percent over two years plus more work in the third year for not enough pay.

Seattle Education Association

ALL SEA MEMBERS: 5 percent and 5.5 percent, total of 10.5 percent over two years. (Our previous proposal was for 6 percent, 6 percent and 6 per-cent.)

These numbers do not include the state COLA, which ALL K-12 school employees are receiving, and which isn’t part of negotiations. Yet the school district is taking credit for it in an attempt to make its proposal sound better than it really is.

We’ve gone six years without a state COLA, which means we’re 13 percent behind where we would otherwise be. The state hasn’t increased our health care funding for five years, which means we’re paying more than ever for our health insur-ance premiums – and many of us are taking home less money as a result.

The Seattle School Board has the financial resources to invest in its staff. Because the Legisla-ture increased K-12 school funding by more than $1 billion in the latest state budget, Seattle Public Schools will receive around $40 million in new state funding this year, and even more in future years.

That’s in addition to around $15 million in ad-ditional levy money each of the next three years The Seattle School Board CAN afford to pay for what we’ve proposed. Yet they refuse.

Remember, our other big issues are still unre-solved: reasonable testing, fair evaluations, work-load relief and student equity.

Setting the record straight on compensation

On the LineSeattle Education Association’s Daily Bargaining Bulletin Issue 3 /Sept. 11, 2015

No negotiations are scheduled -- yet

Yesterday, SEA Bargaining Team leaders met with the state mediators for a couple hours in the morning. Then the mediators met with the school board’s bargainers. There are no negotiations scheduled.

The SEA Bargaining Team is dedicated to get-ting a fair contract agreement, and we’re ready to meet anytime, anywhere – once the Seattle School Board and Supt. Nyland get serious about address-ing our issues.

“The school board needs to come forward with some new ideas,” SEA President Jonathan Knapp told The Seattle Times. “Until we have something new from the district, we don’t see why we would go back to the bargaining table.”

Financial & health care information

For school district employees employed by Seattle Public Schools or any Washington school district in 2015-16: Insurance benefits are paid one month in advance so your insurance coverage will continue through the month of Sep-tember.

For new employees: Insurance coverage will not begin until October 1. That would be the case even if you were not on strike.

The School Employees Credit Union of Wash-ington is offering all Seattle school district employ-ees who may need financial assistance during the strike a $2,500 Getting Started Loan.

The Getting Started Loan is interest free, has no fees and the first payment isn’t due for 90 days. For any employee with a current loan through the credit union, they also offer the option of skipping a payment for two months.

For further information, please contact the credit union at 888-628-4010.

This is a fight for kids -- and respect!

Today is the third day of our history-making strike against the Seattle School Board and Supt. Larry Nyland.

• Approximately 5,000 SEA certificated staff and paras are on strike.

• Nearly 100 schools closed.

• Seattle’s 53,000 students are not in school.

This is a fight for what kids need. It’s also a fight for respect. By rejecting our proposals around testing, equity, evaluations and pay, the Seattle School Board is disrespecting us, our students and our community.