Tacoma school district investigates after 38 teachers call in sick at Reed Elementary
Tacoma Public Schools has opened an investigation after roughly half of the employees at Tacoma’s Jennie Reed Elementary School called in sick Sept. 12.
Tanisha Jumper, a spokesperson for the district, said that 29 certificated teachers and nine support staff called in sick at the school – which has a total of 61 employees according to the staff directory on its website. An unsigned letter that has been circulating among the school’s community recently states that teachers did so to “send the message” to district officials that the community “will not accept fewer supports for our students,” reporting that up to four employees at the school will be displaced and moved to another school.
“They know this severely inconveniences you, your students and your families and sincerely apologize,” the letter reads, which The News Tribune obtained from an anonymous member of the Jennie Reed community. “Please know they are standing up for our students and need our help!”
The district responded that morning by sending administrators and staff from across Tacoma Public Schools to “ensure that student learning and supervision occurred without interruption,” Jumper added.
“The district takes all disruptions to student learning and supervision seriously and act quickly to ensure that students are safe and supported,” she wrote to The News Tribune in an email.
Jumper called the staff absences an “unprecedented situation,” and said the district has opened an investigation “to understand what happened.” As of Sept. 15, she said only one staff member at the school had been displaced.
The News Tribune obtained an email that was sent from Forrest Griek, the district’s director of labor relations, to employees who called in sick. The email alleged staff engaged in misconduct, and if the allegations are found to be true following an investigation, the employees who received the message could receive disciplinary action, including termination, the email states.
Angel Morton, president of Tacoma Education Association, the union that represents teachers and certificated staff in the district, declined to comment.
The news comes after the district was contending with a $30 million budget deficit, which it largely attributed to rising costs and insufficient funding from the state government. Though the district has since balanced its budget for the current academic year and the district’s board approved it over the summer, parents, teachers, staff and students have criticized the district for doing so after cutting several staff positions that they say served Tacoma’s most vulnerable students.
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 1:26 PM.
