Unionized teachers in Pulaski County say they'll be back on the job Friday. The decision comes after a one day work stoppage the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers, PACT, called a "fair treatment walkout." It left PCSSD scrambling to cover the 690 teachers who didn't show up to work.
When you talk to any union teacher they'll tell you the walkout was not about the money but about
their contract, which even after a 1-day demonstration isn't closer to being ratified. About 100 union teachers in Pulaski County were out of the classroom and in full voice protesting Thursday morning.
There was tension early on about where teachers could protest. One group was told to leave district headquarters. "Very disappointed because they are there for the children. And we've given them what the association asked for, so why are they striking?" School Board member Mildred Tatum said.
Just down the road parents dropped their kids off. Parent, Kawana Brown said she didn’t know this was going on and this was the first she had heard about it. Other parents knew though; 1 in 3 Fuller Middle School Students didn't show to class, others left during the day. And district wide 19% of the 17,860 students were absent Thursday.
While there was teaching going on in some classrooms, there just was not a lot of it at Fuller. They normally have 42 teachers, Thursday they had just 8.
By mid-day, the 1-day walkout moved downtown where the
Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers met behind closed doors again. Finally emerging two hours later, PACT President Marty Nix explained what happened in the meeting. "Teachers are going back, we're going to continue to try to get our recognition back and continue to try and get that contract ratified."
Superintendent Rob McGill says he's happy teachers are back saying they have excellent teachers and they need them back in the classroom to educate because that's what they’re here for.
The district says 64% of its 1,360 teachers are in PACT, a majority of them in the middle and high school levels. Teachers that participated in the walk-out say they took a paid day of leave. But PCSSD says it plans to dock one day's pay from teachers who didn't show up Thursday.
