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Students Skip Class, Rally to Back Teachers

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About 125 San Marino High School students skipped their 1 p.m. class Wednesday to attend a rally supporting teachers’ salary demands. But the crowd broke up peacefully 15 minutes later when the principal politely asked students to return to class.

“I think we have bright kids and they understand there are two sides to issues,” said Principal Don Banderas, as he watched the last stragglers file back into classrooms.

Students had unfurled banners and chanted “6%” in efforts to focus attention on the contract demands of their teachers.

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“I like all my teachers, they’re great teachers and I think they should get paid more,” said Annie Wu, a 14-year-old freshman at San Marino, where about 1,000 students are enrolled.

About 140 teachers in the San Marino School District have been working without a contract since the beginning of the 1988 school year. They are seeking a 6% increase retroactive to Sept. 1, 1988, said Jim Korkis, vice president of the San Marino Teachers Assn.

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