Back to School

Kids are back at their desks. Teachers are back in class. Parents across Tacoma breathe a sigh of relief. The school board ratifies a strike-ending contract. Ah, the re-start of the school year.

According to the TNT:

The Tacoma School Board on Wednesday ratified a three-year teacher contract in a unanimous vote, one week after leaders from the district and the teachers union reached a deal leading to the end of an eight-day strike.

“We ratified the contract and are ready to move on,” school board President Kurt Miller said after the brief meeting. “We still have a lot of work to do (this school year).”

As far as we can tell from the information released so far, nothing much changes right away with this three-year deal. Perhaps the most note-worthy item is the announcement of the formation of a committee to address the major sticking point in the negotiations: whether factors other than seniority (such as performance) can be used to determine teacher transfers and reassignments. Oh, and the signing of the agreement means there will not be a disruption in teacher pay, despite the 8-day strike.

Miller says we’re ready to move on. Whether this “we” refers to the school board, the district, or Tacoma as a whole, it’s certain that the strike and its fallout got old a long time ago for pretty much everyone involved.

We have to wonder though, has anything been learned from this?

Read more at The News Tribune