CENTRALIA, Wash. — "Centralia Strong" chants could be heard throughout the city as the battle between teachers and the district intensifies.
“I wish I had good news, it’s not good news,” said Lauri Johnson, Centralia Education Association co-chair.
Monday marked bargain number 18 for Centralia schools.
“It’s scary for a lot of us. I think it’s scary for the community. I can imagine it’s scary for the district, as well. Nobody wanted to be here,” said Frederic Noreau, a Centralia fifth-grade teacher.
He’s been on strike for four days and said the past week has been a roller coaster ride.
If a deal’s not reached, the union and the district face off in Lewis County Superior Court at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
“No, I never anticipated it’d get here, and I don’t think anybody would,” Noreau said.
Tumwater teachers are in the same boat. They head back to Thurston County Superior Court at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
“Right up until August 31, the district was only offering us 3.1-percent, which would’ve made us making less money than Elma and Shelton and Yelm,” said Tumwater second-grade teacher Sara Smith.
Ryan Johnston grew up in Tumwater and went to Black Hills High School.
“I was lucky to have a very good education and I feel like the people in this room, the people out on the picket lines, (had) a huge hand in that,” he said.
Johnston was one of hundreds of people in Tumwater who signed declarations to support teachers on strike. In Centralia, more than 600 parent declarations had been signed by Monday afternoon.
Teachers hope the declarations make a difference to a judge.
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