Teachers Stage Sickout After Pact on Pay Raises

More than 800 schoolteachers unhappy with a new contract staged a sickout, a day after their union and the Tucson school district reached a tentative agreement on a one-year pact with raises of about 10%.

Schools used substitutes, combined classes and called in staff with teaching experience to help fill the void. School district officials had not decided whether to punish teachers who called in sick.

Some teachers said they were upset because the agreement doesn’t offer them enough money. Others were unhappy because the raises would come from a voter-approved sales tax increase and not from the district.