A Snohomish County Superior Court judge today ordered striking Marysville School District teachers back to work Wednesday.
“It’s time for all the adults to grow up and start looking at their obligations to these children,” she said.
Members of the striking Marysville Education Association were expected to meet tonight to discuss the injunction, and whether teachers would obey the order. If they refuse, each of the 650 striking teachers could be fined up to $250 for every day they fail to return to work.
But minutes after the ruling, the head of the local teachers’ union said she expects teachers to defy the order.
“I feel very firmly that we won’t go back without a contract. We need a contract,” said Elaine Hanson, president of the Marysville Education Association.
School district Superintendent Linda Whitehead said she was pleased by the ruling. “I’m excited the teachers and students are coming back to school,” she said.
A frustrated group of parents, “Tired of the Strike,” brought the injunction request to court, and the Marysville School District later joined the lawsuit.
Judge Linda Krese, who on Wednesday told both sides to return to the bargaining table and resume talks in earnest, made the court decision after talks produced no settlement on Sunday.
Monday was the 49th day of the strike. The district’s 11,000 students have not been in school since June. The Marysville strike is the only one continuing in the country.
Click here to view copies of the official court documents.
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