Alpine

A two-day strike of Alpine Union School District teachers ended Thursday when all 40 instructors returned to the classrooms, but contract negotiations are expected to continue. “We felt like we needed to make a statement to the community and the board,” Alpine Teachers Assn. Vice President John McCambridge said, “and we felt at the end of two days that we had done that.” Association President Janet McQuaid, McCambridge and school Supt. Jere Ancell are scheduled to meet today to discuss contract negotiations, in which teachers have protested a pay offer that falls about 3% short of what they want. Substitute teachers and teachers’ aides ran classrooms during the regular teachers’ absence. Asked if teachers might strike again, McCambridge said, “I wouldn’t rule it out. . . . It’s certainly something we would want to avoid.”