The WEA union has closed schools with teacher strikes in southwest Washington, disrupting the education of 62,000 children. Next week teachers in Seattle, Tacoma, Puyallup and Federal Way may also strike, closing school to 128,000 students. Also threatened with strikes are the districts of Aberdeen, Central Valley, Camas, Centralia, Longview, Mount Vernon, Ridgefield, Stanwood-Camano, Sultan, and Yakima. Dozens of districts still have not reached agreement with the union, and may also be closed by strikes. Part of the story here is that the WEA union's double-digit pay increase demands are so expensive they threaten the fiscal stability of many districts.

For those interested in the rest of the story, here is an article by Dr. Timothy S. Yeomans, Superintendent of Puyallup School District.