Greetings LHE community! We hope everyone had a relaxing and fun summer.

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As many of you know, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the Seattle Education Association (SEA) - the teacher’s union - are actively engaged in contract negotiations to approve a new collective bargaining agreement by August 31, when their current contract will expire. On August 26, 2026, SEA voted to authorize a work stoppage should negotiations hit an impasse. If this were to occur, the start of the 2026-27 school year would be delayed until an agreement is reached.

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PTA Neutrality
Consistent with WSPTA policy, one of our goals is to “promote the collaboration and engagement of families and educators in the education of children and youth[.]” To that aim, WSPTA policy requires us to remain neutral during contract negotiations and encourage both sides to reach an agreement in the best interest of children and families. For more information, we direct our community to review a Guide for Parents and Families During Collective Bargaining and Work Stoppages.

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What can you do?

This process obviously is not ideal for anyone involved and while we as a PTA must remain neutral, you are of course welcome as individual families to show support in any way you feel is best. The Loyal Heights community has always shown amazing strength and encouragement in times like these.  Our PTA Board will continue to keep you informed and send updates about the progress of negotiations as closures will likely continue until they reach agreement. Some may remember this led to a five-day start delay in 2022.

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We urge both SPS and SEA to continue their negotiations in good faith and remain united behind the goal of advancing our children’s education. We also urge all parties to reach an agreement as soon as possible. Together we can achieve more for our children. For information about SPS Collective Bargaining Positions, you may click HERE or review the Superintendent's newsletter. To read SEA proposals, you may visit this site, review their FAQ page, or sign up for alerts at: https://bit.ly/SEAsupporters.

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Should families have any questions, you can reach out to president@loyalheightspta.org or legislative@loyalheightspta.org.

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Many thanks,
Ally Magnano & Jessica Meyer
LHE PTA Co-Presidents