Joint Statement from Northshore School District and Northshore Education Association

The Northshore Education Association (NSEA) and Northshore School District (NSD) are pleased to announce that Northshore educators have approved new two-year contracts. Certificated educators approved their agreement at 83.97% and Education Support Professionals (ESPs) voted to approve their agreement at 76.87%.

The new agreements reflect months of thoughtful discussion and our shared commitment to supporting Northshore educators, our students, and their families. Among their key provisions, the agreements provide more competitive compensation and benefits, additional support for educators and students, investments in working and learning conditions, while supporting the district’s long-term financial stability.

We want to thank the Northshore educators and district bargaining team members who dedicated countless hours to reach these agreements. Throughout the process, both teams remained committed to our students, staff, and families and to reaching agreements that support a strong future for Northshore.

Lauren Dandridge, NSEA President shared, “I am constantly impressed by how our members show up every day for their students and for each other. We look forward to partnering with the district to implement our new contracts over the coming months.”

While these contracts represent many of our shared hopes and priorities for Northshore, we remain deeply concerned about Washington state’s continued underfunding of public education. Providing ample funding for public schools is the state’s paramount constitutional duty, yet school districts across Washington continue to face significant gaps between state funding and the actual cost of educating and supporting students.

“I am incredibly grateful to our bargaining teams for the time and care they brought to this process, and deeply appreciative of our educators, who are truly the heart of Northshore. I look forward to partnering with NSEA as we continue to advocate for our educators, students, and full funding of public education,” Superintendent Justin Irish stated in response to approval of the contracts. 

We also extend our sincere gratitude to Northshore voters for continuing to support our local levies. These locally approved funds are critical to maintaining reasonable class sizes, providing competitive compensation, and sustaining the programs and services our students need and deserve.

The next step in the approval process is for the Northshore School Board to vote on these ratified contracts at its regular meeting on September 14.

We are grateful to everyone who helped us reach these agreements and look forward to starting school next Tuesday, September 1.