Instead of preparing for the first day of school on Monday, Kent School District teachers were picketing Thursday after their union, the Kent Education Association, voted Wednesday night at Kentlake to go on strike.

Dozens of teachers gathered in front of Covington schools, which are part of Kent School District, carrying signs and waving at motorists who passed by, many of whom honked in support.

“The public seems to be really supportive,” said Kentlake music teacher Dave Harris. “The overwhelming response has been positive.”

Bonnie Lew, a science teacher at Kentlake, said part of the point of striking was to help people understand the issues teachers have with the district.

“We do have public support,” she said. “There may be a few that don’t understand. That’s why we are here — for education.”

This initial demonstration seems to be a reflection of the frustration borne out in the vote Wednesday night, when 86.4 percent of the about 1,500 teachers in attendance cast their ballots in favor of walking off the job. Kent teachers stated they are frustrated with how they are expected to use their time, class sizes and pay.

Karl Weir-Haug, a social studies teacher at Kentlake, said while teacher salaries are part of the problem, it’s not a primary issue.

“The issues are class size, workload and time to do what we need to do,” Weir-Haug said. “We do a lot of meetings and don’t get a lot of time to get our work done; that’s the big thing. The secondary issue is pay, but, we are one of the worst paid in the Puget Sound region.”

Weir-Haug added that it is vital to pay teachers what “they’re worth” and that the union members are demanding respect from the school district but “I don’t know if we are respected.”

Marla Boyd, a Spanish teacher at Kentlake who also handles dance and physical education, said she thinks the district is misrepresenting teachers’ demands.

“The message the District has sent to the public is teachers just want a pay raise,” Boyd said. “That is an issue, but not the main issue.”

Aretha Franklin’s song, “Respect,” was brought up by Kentlake drama teacher Pam Cressey saying the strike is about respect.

“It is about treating us like we are worth something, like valuable individuals who do an amazing job for them and for our kids,” Cressey said. “I’m a mom, these are my kids. I’m not doing this to hurt them. I’m doing this because I love them. I don’t think they’ve (district administrators) ever seen us do anything like this. I hope they are shocked.”

Kentwood health and physical education teacher Dean Montzingo, who also has extensive coaching experience at the high school, explained that this has been bubbling under the surface for some time.

“This has been coming for a long time,” Montzingo said. “It is more about class size and working conditions than money, but we are the lowest paid in the Puget Sound. All we are asking for is fair and comparable pay.”

The KEA has tentatively scheduled another vote on the district’s contract proposals on Sunday. Negotiations have continued between the union and the school district even while teachers have been picketing.