Seattle students start school after teachers strike suspended

SEATTLE -- Yellow school buses rolled through Seattle's streets and noisy schoolchildren packed playgrounds again as thousands of students started the school year that had been delayed by a weeklong teachers strike.

The walkout that began Sept. 9 was put on hold after the teachers union and Washington state's largest school district reached a tentative contract agreement. The full union membership will vote on the deal Sunday.

Classes resumed Thursday for the city's 53,000 public school students. Students greeted each other in playgrounds, while parents helped younger children find new classrooms. Plenty of people pulled out cameras to snap first-day school selfies.

The tentative deal gives teachers a 9.5 percent pay raise over three years, guaranteed 30-minute recesses for elementary students and more teacher input over standardized tests.

"I'm really supportive of the kids having a longer recess. I think it makes a big difference for their development, for their ability to learn," said parent Karen Rosenberg to CBS affiliate KIRO.

The sides have been negotiating over issues that include teacher pay, evaluations and the length of the school day.

Educators complained that living expenses have become unaffordable as the city's high-paid technology industry booms and they have gone six years without a cost-of-living increase. The district provided raises totaling 8 percent out of local levy money in that time.

Teacher salaries in Seattle range from about $44,000 to more than $86,000, depending on experience and education.

Councilwoman Kshama Sawant said that if the union wins, it will be a huge step forward for students and educators, but it would also resonate outside Seattle.

"A victory for the union is also a victory for education across the country. It shows that if we organize and remain united, we can resist attacks on public education," she said.

CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO reported the school district said the strike was costing them roughly $100,000 for each day missed, but they have not broken down how they arrived at that number. The teachers' union says they're curious what the expenses are when teachers aren't being paid, according to the station.

This year, lawmakers -- facing a court order to increase spending on education -- came up with money for new teachers and supplies. Some $37 million of that will go to Seattle.

The district says it has offered raises totaling 14 percent over three years -- including cost-of-living adjustments from the state -- but it also wants to extend the school day by 20 minutes, arguing that Seattle has one of the shortest instructional days in the state, at 6 hours and 10 minutes.

The union said the proposal would have forced teachers to work that extra time for free. Over the weekend, the district offered to pay teachers for the added instructional minutes, Howard said. The union proposed studying the pros and cons of an extended school day.