While teachers in two school districts returned to work last week after striking for more than a week, teachers in other districts around the country walked out.
Classes resumed in Kelso, Wash., following an eight-day strike. The walkout was declared illegal by a judge and would have saddled the union with $2,000-a-day fines if teachers hadn’t resumed work in the 4,500-student district.
In Prospect Heights District 23 in suburban Chicago, teachers also went back to work after a seven-day walkout.
Illinois saw teachers go out last week in at least two other districts. In another Chicago suburb, McHenry, they went on strike in the 2,600-student district after disagreeing with district leaders about compensation and insurance benefits.Teachers in East St. Louis, Ill., which has 6,000 students, also took to the picket lines amid a contract stalemate with the district largely over pay raises.
Students in at least two Pennsylvania districts also found themselves with unscheduled days off. A walkout by teachers in the 9,700-student Scranton district went into its fourth day late last week, while Old Forge teachers marked nearly two weeks out. Old Forge teachers have been working under an expired contract for six years.
In addition to missing classes, students in Scranton have had their interscholastic sports affected. Some games have been forfeited, and others postponed with the hope they can be rescheduled before district and state deadlines to have seasons completed.
