Union files grievance over conditions at Mill Creek Middle School

The Kent Education Association has filed a formal grievance against Mill Creek Middle school over dangerous disciplinary conditions at the school that have affected students and staff.

“At this point we felt we had to formalize our concerns because there’s got to be an optimal learning environment for students and staff,” said KEA president Cindy Prescott.

The complaint comes after several serious issues of fights and bullying have created disruptive conditions at the school. Both parties will have to find a way to balance out class stability with the districts overarching goal of giving students as many chances to succeed in school as possible.

Prescott said that the grievance has been filed at the school/building level, and that they will have seven days to respond to the allegations, at which time it will move up to the superintendent level. She noted that these are active school days, and so summer days won’t count.

Discussions will likely be picked up at the beginning of the next school year, but “that doesn’t mean we can’t have informal conversation about the issues going on there,” Prescott said.

In a statement made Wednesday morning, the school district said that it takes the complaint seriously but is limited in what it can discuss about legal matters.

“The district takes these issues seriously, just as it takes student and parent complaints seriously. The district will be following the contractual grievance process to address KEA’s concerns. In accordance with the grievance process set forth in KEA’s contract, the district treats all matters pertaining to specific grievances as confidential, in order to support the parties in their collaborative efforts to resolve these issues.”