
Some students hoped to return to school after the long holiday weekend, bit the district has already canceled classes for Tuesday.
Behind closed doors in Tacoma, teachers and district leaders have been continuing talks that could send them back to school.
"Both teams have been there all weekend and may be here tomorrow, so there's a real effort to get this resolved," said Tom Cruver with the Bethel Education Association.
The dispute is over money, health benefits and class size. Teachers claim they're underpaid and overworked, and the district claims it's listening to the teachers' demands.
"We're making progress. We still have a long way to go, but we're hopeful," said district spokesman Mark Wenzel.
Teachers traded in their classrooms for the picket lines last Thursday, which was supposed to be the first day of class.
Cruver said teachers made the decision after six months of failed contract negotiations.
"There's always been a sense of urgency, even in February," he said.
But the urgency for parents is growing every day. Albert Boring's daughter has already missed two days of school.
"She seems to enjoy the fact that she's not going to school right now," he said.
But she may not be so happy when the district reschedules the days lost to the strike later this year.
"The makeup days could be Saturdays, they could be this summer, a shortened holiday. We'll look at all the options," Wenzel said.
Both sides plan to meet on Monday. If they agree on a contract, they'll need to open it up for a review for the following 24 hours, during which time the start of the school year will continue to be delayed.
(komotv.com)