High school sports will continue in Kent School District even if teachers strike

Strike or not, the games will go on.

Officials in the Kent School District this week said that interscholastic athletics will continue whether or not the Kent Education Association votes to strike during Wednesday’s membership meeting.

The KEA meeting starts at 5 tonight.

According to an e-mail from Athletic Director David Lutes, all high-school fall sports programs will continue to practice and play as scheduled during a potential teacher work stoppage.

“The teachers union and the coaches union are two separate unions and therefore operate under two different contracts,” Lutes wrote. “The teachers union does no oversee the coach’s activities.”

According to the e-mail, teacher/coaches will have to make a “personal decision as to whether they will coach during a teacher work stoppage by the KEA union.”

The district expects the majority of coaches to continue to coach, but cannot guarantee what any single coach’s decision will be.