Dear Families and Mercer Island Citizens,

As you may have heard, the teachers and support professionals of the Mercer Island Education Association voted overwhelmingly to walk out against the Legislature on May 19. We did not make this decision lightly. We want to be perfectly clear, we are not walking out against the Mercer Island School District or the Mercer Island Community. We are incredibly grateful for the fabulous and continued support our community has shown us year after year. Yet, we feel we have an obligation to make a very prominent stand against the Legislature’s continued failure to fully fund public schools.

We also recognize how action like this puts additional strain on Mercer Island parents and students. Our members had a constructive and, at times, agonizing debate. We agreed, however, to speak out because the legislation proposed in Olympia is not only bad for Mercer Island students, it is bad to students across our state.

What are our specific concerns with the legislature?

Loss of local control of levy monies – The Senate budget proposal does not allow for local levy funds to be used for “any activity to support students to earn credits or grades.” That means Mercer Island students could face the following negative impacts:

• Elimination of the seven period day which provides students with enriched opportunities including electives and personalized learning options.

• Serious increases in class sizes that are now well below present state funding for Mercer Island students.

• Jeopardized opportunities in advanced placement courses and academic acceleration programs.

• Impacts to our award-winning fine arts programs including in art, drama, and music.

• Cuts or elimination of programs to aid social and emotional development and help students with mental health needs.

Failure to reduce class sizes Grade 4 through 12 – Class size reductions or providing additional staffing (such as counselors and reading specialists) to reduce adult to student ratios are now the law but both the House and the Senate refuse to fund lower class sizes beyond 3rd grade. Class size does matter for all kids.

Failure to provide professional compensation – Washington state ranks 42nd in the nation in teacher compensation. Educators have not had a COLA for six years and medical insurance premiums have increased. No additional dollars have been provided from the state since 2010. Our district will not be able to hire and retain the best teachers for our students if these erosions of compensation continue.

Failure to fully fund schools – The Mercer Island School Board joined The Network for Excellence in Washington (NEWS) and brought suit against the Legislature. The state Supreme Court found the Legislature in contempt of court for failing to follow its order to fully fund public education.

Because of this, our members voted to take this action — not against students, parents, and citizens of Mercer Island — against the Legislature. We have tried everything else: Attended legislative town hall meetings; Travelled to Olympia to testify and meet with legislators; Held a Saturday rally in Olympia on April 25; Made thousands of phone calls and sent countless emails. Yet the Legislature has failed to provide a budget to adequately fund our schools.

We hope that you will join us to show your support for our schools during our day of action. Put on a red shirt (Wear Red for ED) and wave signs with us from 8:30-9 a.m., join the march from Seattle Center to Westlake Center from 11-12 p.m., or be part of the rally at Westlake Center from 12-1 p.m. Thousands of educators, PTA members, and public school supporters will be there standing up for full funding for our schools.

With Gratitude,

Mercer Island Education Association