Judge rules Kelso teacher strike illegal

A judge in Cowlitz County Superior Court has declared the Kelso teacher strike illegal and ordered educators back to the classroom Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Kelso teachers said they are meeting Sunday evening to decide what to do.

“The Board is struggling to understand why the union refused to continue to negotiate on Thursday night September 17″.

The teachers’ association representative and attorney had no comment after the ruling.

“The paramount duty of the state is to provide an education” to children, Koss said.

Bob Miller, president of the district’s teachers union, told WGN-TV that the strike will likely last at least two days. I think our bargaining team is, too.

“The district offer is to make our teachers the most highly paid in Cowlitz County”, Gelbrich said in response to criticism that district negotiators were stalemating.

“We’ve tried to explain to our teachers that you can’t just look at salary, you have to look at benefits and the overall picture”, Peters said.

The teachers have been seeking pay increases of more than 4 percent per year in each of the next three years.

The district serves about 5,000 students in southwest Washington. “My understanding is that’s our right, to strike – I was shocked”, DeBruler said. They also said the walkout could drive students out of the district and result in lost state revenue, and could affect scholarship opportunities and hurt graduating seniors’ ability to take jobs or scheduled exams.

“It was really hard for me to fill out that paperwork”, she said. “I feel strongly that we’re doing the right thing”.

Working mom Adriana Schmidt said she’s grateful to have found a spot for her kindergartner in the park district’s temporary child care program, and says as an educational consultant, she supports the district’s teachers’ decision to strike for higher pay.

As approximately 1,500 students in four northwestern suburbs missed a second day of school due to a teachers’ strike, the head of the Prospect Heights school board was offering a glimmer of hope for a quick resolution.