The first day of school is back in the plans again for Seattle families with a tentative agreement in the teacher strike on a three-year deal.

Details of the contract have not been released but an email from Jennifer Matter, president of the Seattle Education Association, to union members Monday night said the tentative agreement centered on a three-year deal with wins on special education and salaries.

Union membership must still vote to approve the deal. Tuesday marks the fifth day of missed classes due to the strike.

Seattle Public Schools has not yet announced a date for the first day of classes but said there would be more information Tuesday afternoon.

UPDATE: Classes will begin Wednesday morning. More information on making up the lost days will be announced.

CHS reported here on the formation of picket lines at public schools across Capitol Hill, the Central District, and the city as the 6,000 or so member strong union went on strike for the first time in seven years over pay and issues including how the district staffs important programs like special education.

“I think it’s really important as a (special education) teacher, let alone a general education teacher, to have class sizes that is manageable. Have work and case loads that are manageable. Have living wages that are decent, that allow people to work,” Brenda Nelson, a special education teacher at Capitol Hill’s Meany Middle School, said about the picket lines. “We all know, here in Seattle being a very expensive place to work, many of our teachers and instructional instructors have second and third jobs. We need wages that are livable and allow people to not have to work so extremely hard to earn a living.”

The work stoppage is set to mirror 2015’s five-day strike. That year — the last time the Seattle Education Association walked out and formed picket lines — the labor dispute ended with a Tuesday morning tentative agreement on a three-year deal with pay increases of 3% in the first year; 2% in the second, and 4.5% in third, plus state cost-of-living raises plus agreements on a host of improvements including recess guarantees, and the end of test scores being tied to student evaluations. Seattle Public Schools also agreed to create race and equity teams at 30 of the district’s campuses.

With a three-year deal in place, teachers and families will have some peace of mind over the coming late summers.

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