Teachers for 3 Districts Reach Tentative Pacts to End Strikes

Striking teachers in Mount Laurel, N.J., Lewistown, Ill., and Athens, Pa., reached tentative agreements Saturday to end three-day walkouts, while 105,000 students idled by strikes in 27 other districts nationwide faced another week without school.

Little progress was reported to end work stoppages that have disrupted classes for 18,275 students in Illinois, 5,000 in Massachusetts, 21,635 in Michigan, 6,000 in Ohio, 45,496 in Pennsylvania, 1,900 in Rhode Island and 6,650 in Washington state.

In Mount Laurel, classes for 2,400 students are scheduled to resume Monday. Negotiators reached an agreement on a three-year contract after an all-night bargaining session, school spokeswoman Miriam Burdette said.

Officials refused to release details until after a vote this week by the union’s 170 teachers.

Classes are scheduled to resume Monday for 590 pupils after a three-day strike by 33 Lewistown teachers ended. The two sides agreed on a two-year contract that includes a $2,000 salary increase over two years.

Striking teachers in Athens, Pa., also agreed to a tentative contract. No details were released, but schools Supt. Walter Hutz said classes will resume Monday for the district’s 2,731 pupils. The 178 teachers in the Bradford County district are expected to ratify the new pact Tuesday night.