Kent Legislators Weigh In

It seems that Kent’s state representatives are not happy with the way KSD has been bargaining either.  KEA has received copies of two letters from state legislators Geoff Simpson and Pat Sullivan regarding the current bargaining.  In a joint letter from August 13th, the two wrote to welcome Dr. Vargas to Kent, and encouraged the two parties to, “do everything we can to resolve the remaining issues and we stand ready to help in any way we can.”  What’s more, the legislators congratulated Kent for, “putting funds aside during past periods of economic growth,” but added, “we are clearly in times where many levels of government and private entities must rely on our reserves to carry out our core functions.  If we’ve been saving for a rainy day, the storm has come.”  You can read a copy of the letter here: http://www.kentschools.org/index.php/component/content/article/26.html

Representative Simpson followed up more recently with a strongly worded letter of condemnation to Dr. Vargas expressing his displeasure with how Kent School District was using, “sleazy tactics,”  to, “win in the court of public opinion.”  Rep. Simpson continued, “I think it’s wrong of you to use taxpayer dollars to take issues from the bargaining table to the public.”  In reaction to KSD’s use of parent contact info and resources to spread its propaganda to the public, Simpson says that he intends to introduce legislation in the upcoming session to prevent similar abuses in the future.  Read Rep. Simpson’s letter here:  http://www.kentschools.org/index.php/component/content/article/1/24.html

Tags: Bargaining, Simpson, Strike, Sullivan, Vargas