Schoolteachers Hold 1-Day Strike

Hundreds of teachers in the Orange Unified School District stayed out of the classroom Thursday in a one-day strike, marking an escalation in the union’s long-running contract battle with the school board.

Teachers in Orange County’s fourth largest district picketed in front of all 42 campuses, often joined by parents and students.

District officials said 802 of the district’s 1,330 teachers--about 60%--did not work Thursday. Union officials put the figure at 70%. More than 11,000 of the district’s 28,000 students stayed away, said district spokeswoman Judy Frutig. Some of them joined the picket lines.

Frutig said that the number of teachers who went to work Thursday shows that the Orange Unified Educators Assn. is out of step with the rank and file. Union officials, however, said they were pleased by the number who stayed out of the classrooms.

“It shows that the teachers were united,” said Tim Hill, who helped coordinate the walkout for the California Teachers Assn., the statewide educators union. “It sent a message to the district that they can’t function without the teachers of Orange.”

The teachers union says that the board had no right to impose a contract last month giving teachers an 8% raise retroactive to 1998. The union says the contract includes subtractions that ultimately make the figure substantially less.