After a short break from a day of picketing outside Bellevue schools, teachers marched again at district headquarters Tuesday night during the school board meeting. The board room quickly filled for discussions on the current teachers’ strike.

Instead of giving a review of the opening day of school, Interim Superintendent Karen Clark and other board members opened the floor for clarification and questions regarding the current negotiations that have the students and teachers picketing on the sidewalks instead of sitting in the classrooms.

The Bellevue Education Association, the teachers’ union, announced a strike against the Bellevue School District that began today. No contract agreement has been reached between teachers and the district. Teachers had voted in June to go on strike if a tentative contract had not been reached by Sept. 1.

Because of the strike, all district schools are closed until further notice.

Separating the teachers and the district are the issues of pay and curriculum. Negotiations continue with the assistance of a mediator from the Public Employment Relations Commission.

Several teachers, parents and students stood before the school board to voice concerns regarding the ongoing negotiations.

Members representing the district’s negotiating team discussed where the two sides stand.

In the area of supplemental compensation, the two sides are miles apart, union officials say. The union’s three-year pay proposal is about twice what the district is offering. The district’s offer for 2008-09 is 6.6 percent pay increase, with 5.1 percent coming from the state and 1.5 percent from local tax dollars. The Union’s counter proposal made on August 30 was for a three-year agreement with a 9 percent pay increase.

According to school district information, the BEA proposal would equate to over $3 million in pay increases, resulting in approximately 62.5 fewer teachers, enlargement of class size by an average of two students, or a significant reduction of teachers in elective areas such as arts, music, or vocational.

Principal Tracy Maury of Phantom Lake Elementary addressed the issue of the curriculum to the packed board room. Maury explained that the district has produced a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the interest of having a common and articulated curriculum in Bellevue and to provide clear expectations of teachers.

The Memorandum of Understanding posted on the district’s official Website states that the district and the BEA have a mutual interest in collaborating to acquire, develop, and deliver a high quality curriculum in all subject areas.

It also says, teachers will exercise professional judgment in determining when and how to modify or supplement lessons to meet the needs of students and achieve unit and lesson objectives. While teachers are encouraged to submit modifications as a benefit to other teachers and in an effort to improve the curriculum, there is no obligation to do so.

The school board meeting occasionally was interrupted by shouts drifting into the board room from those picketing outside. The parking lot quickly became a sea of signs that read, “Trust Your Teachers” and “One Size Doesn’t Fit All.”

Students have begun to voice their support for teachers on the “Save Our School Year” group found on the social network Facebook. Nick Rogstad, a Sammamish High School student created the group to provide a forum for students to post opinions, stay up-to-date, and to engage in discussions about the strike.

BEA spokespersons continued to encourage parents to join teachers on the picket lines, saying they could show up at any school to show their support.

The BEA also asked for people with homes near each school to make their bathrooms available for teachers.

Because of the strike, some school services may be changed or curtailed, the district said.

Children already enrolled in the district’s childcare program may sign up for fee-supported services at their regular sites. Full-day Head Start also will be on its regular schedule. However, half-day pre-school and half-day Head Start is cancelled. Additional childcare options are available through the city of Bellevue.

Regarding sports, school sports and related practices will continue on their regular schedules, the district said, as long as practices occur at the same times they would occur if schools were in session. No special practices schedules will be permitted.

Also, community groups will be able to use district facilities and fields for the time being.