Striking Tacoma Teachers Vote To Approve Contract

The AP (9/23, Valdes) reports that teachers in Tacoma, Washington, voted on Thursday to approve a new contract, "ending a 10-day strike that had kept Tacoma's 28,000 students at home for more than week. Nearly 99 percent of teachers voted to approve a deal brokered Wednesday night by Gov. Chris Gregoire, who called representatives from the district and the teachers union to her office in Olympia after negotiations stalled." The piece notes that classes are scheduled to resume today, noting that "teachers were told the three-year contract would keep basic salaries and class sizes the same." The contract however does not resolve the biggest sticking point, a controversial teacher transfer policy, relegating the issue to a new advisory committee made up from members of the union and the district.