Districts News Briefs

Teachers in Salem, Mass., returned to work last week after a two-week walkout, and several districts around the country neared settlements in contract disputes.

The 506 teachers in the 4,800-student Salem district returned to their classrooms Nov. 15 after accumulating $80,000 in fines. Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Donovan levied the $20,000-a-day fines after ruling the teachers were in contempt of her order to return to work.

Teachers also reached agreements in Concrete, Wash., Niles, Ill., and Boise, Idaho. Negotiators in the 26,500-student Boise district reached tentative agreement Nov. 15 after a pay dispute between the teachers' union and district officials. A vote on the agreement had not been scheduled as...