Teacher strikes are dominating local news headlines:

• The Seattle teachers' union yesterday voted to strike starting next Wednesday, Sept. 9 (the first day of school), if they don't reach an agreement with the Seattle School District.
• Pasco teachers, who've been on strike since the first day of school in that district on Sept. 1, were today ordered by a judge to return to work Tuesday. Whether they'll comply with the judge's ruling is another story.
• The Spokane teachers' union last week voted to strike starting today, Sept. 4, but yesterday they reached a tentative deal with the school district. Classes, which started Sept. 1, will continue as long as union members agree on the deal.
• Teachers in the South Whidbey Island School District have been on strike since Thursday. Classes are scheduled to begin there Sept. 8.

In Pasco, pay and curriculum dominate striking teachers' concerns. You can read a Tri-City Herald article outlining the major points of contention between the union and school district here.

In Seattle, many issues – including pay, recess, student testing and teacher evaluations – have been brought up by the union. Teachers are demanding an 18-percent pay raise over the next three years. The school district, Seattle Public Schools, is offering 8.2 percent.

The Seattle Education Association's most recent statement is here; Seattle Public Schools' is here.

We'll be covering these issues in more depth in future posts. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The Seattle Times is out with a strongly worded editorial against the strike. Highlights:

What message will Seattle teachers send by striking, besides stiff-arming more than 50,000 kids and their families? …

Contract particulars will be forgotten. What could be remembered in Olympia is that Seattle teachers walked out demanding raises of 18 percent over three years to take home as much as possible of additional funding the district received.

That is in addition to the Legislature’s increase of 3 percent over two years and a one-time 1.8 percent increase.

…The Seattle School District has provided a generous offer of an 8.2 percent raise over three years — on top of the state-provided increase. A raise is reasonable given district plans to extend the school day and Seattle’s increasing cost of living.

…Also troubling is that the district called for mediation last Tuesday but the union declined to participate until Friday (after its Thursday strike vote), according to an update from Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Larry Nyland. That wasted precious days that could have kept schools opening on time.