CHIMACUM— The first teacher walkout held on the North Olympic Peninsula to draw attention to legislative inaction on fully funding public education drew about 100 people and a special guest.
Stephanie McCleary, 50, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that led to a state Supreme Court decision in 2012 directing the Legislature to fund education, is Chimacum Schools’ human resources director.
During her morning break from work, McCleary — a year-round employee who does not belong to the teachers union — stood with teachers and community members as they gathered Friday at the Chimacum crossroads at West Valley Road and Rhody Drive.
She did not speak publicly but chatted with several of the demonstrators and was interviewed on camera by Elisa Hahn, a KING-TV reporter.
“This was a success,” said Todd Miller, president of the Chimacum Education Association, which represents 75 teachers.
“The reaction was really positive. People honked and waved, and I didn’t see any negative reaction or thumbs down. There was no pushback.”
Port Angeles and Sequim teachers will walk out Monday. Unions represent 217 teachers in Port Angeles and 175 in Sequim
They plan a group rally at noon at Veterans Park on Lincoln Street in Port Angeles after conducting marches in their respective towns earlier in the day.
Classes during the walkouts were canceled.
Each district has scheduled a makeup day in June so students and teachers can complete the state-mandated 180-day school year.
Chimacum seniors will be required to attend school June 8, two days after their scheduled graduation June 6.
For the remainder of students, the last day of school will be Monday, June 15, instead of Friday, June 12.
Actual diplomas won’t be handed out at graduation. Seniors must attend school June 8 to claim them.
Port Angeles students’ last day will be June 15, and Sequim students will have a last day of class June 18.
Graduating seniors at Port Angeles and Sequim high schools will not be required to attend the makeup day.
Teachers are paid by contract, according to Tina Smith O’Hara, Port Angeles School District spokeswoman, so because the day off will be made up, there will be no extra pay nor a pay cut.
Teachers in the three districts are among those in 57 out of the state’s 295 public districts participating in the one-day walkouts, according to the Washington Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.
McCleary’s presence in Chimacum was a particular point of pride for the demonstrators, some of whom carried signs stating “We are the McCleary district.”
“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the McCleary decision,” Miller said.
“We would not be having discussions about class size, we would not be having discussions about money, if not for the McCleary decision.
“Without Stephanie McCleary, maybe this would not have happened at all.”
Stephen Miller, Washington Education Association vice president, spoke at the rally. He is making visits to walkouts throughout the state.
“One of the things I like about driving around between all these rallies is that it shows our connection,” Stephen Miller said.
“We are working as a team across the state to provide one of the best public educations in the nation.”
He criticized the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials for approving an 11.2 percent pay raise for legislators “while teachers do not receive a living wage.”
McCleary, a Sequim native, said she is nervous about public speaking.
“I’m passionate about what I’m doing, but this attention is hard on me,” she said.
“I don’t really like that part of it. It sends me into a tailspin when I have to do this again.”
McCleary, a mother of two — one a son who is heading into his junior year in high school — said that when she joined the lawsuit, she didn’t understand the implications it would have on her life.
“I thought it was the same as signing a petition,” she said. “I was really ignorant about that.”
McCleary said the general public doesn’t understand the implications of underfunding schools.
“If you have kids, you are more in tune with this,” she said. “If you don’t have kids, it’s not important.”
“I think it drew attention to the funding situation and the fact that the Legislature is stuck,” Todd Miller said of the demonstration.
“I also sense the momentum in the smaller districts where it is different than in large cities where people don’t have the same access to their legislators.”
Miller said that if more small districts joined in, it would bring a direct influence on local legislators.
During Monday’s rally in Port Angeles, speeches and live music with a sing-along are planned.
Teachers will distribute postcards for members of the public to write legislators to urge action on funding public education.
Before the group’s noon rally, teachers will gather at several places in each town to make signs.
Sequim Education Association teachers will hand out informational fliers at several businesses and hold a community cleanup at Carrie Blake Park before they drive to Port Angeles for the rally.
Members of the Port Angeles Education Association will march to Veterans Park to meet the Sequim teachers.
In the McCleary decision, justices ruled that lawmakers are not meeting their constitutional responsibility to fully pay for basic kindergarten-through-12th-grade education and are relying too much on local tax-levy dollars to balance the education budget.
In September, the court held the Legislature in contempt, saying it would impose sanctions if no progress were made in this legislative session toward fully funding education by 2018.
Legislators are now in a special 30-day session to work on education funding and other issues.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Arwyn Rice contributed to this report.
