No school in Tumwater Monday as teachers, district head back to court

Tumwater School District officials have cancelled school for Monday, and teachers and district leaders will be back in court that day unless a contract deal is reached over the weekend.

Teachers have been on strike since Sept. 1. On Wednesday, a judge ordered the teachers to go back to work but did not set a return-to-work date or penalties for teachers who refused to comply.

Tumwater teachers were a no-show at schools Thursday and schools were closed Friday.

On Friday, the school district the court asked for an enforcement hearing, which has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday. The district said it will seek a per-day fine of $2,329, a prorated amount of what Tumwater teachers pay in dues to the union.

According to the school district, bargaining continued Friday.

“We remain optimistic that we will reach an agreement quickly and that the hearing will not be necessary,” according to Laurie Wiedenmeyer, a district spokeswoman.

This story was originally published September 14, 2018 at 5:02 PM with the headline "No school in Tumwater Monday as teachers, district head back to court."