BURLINGTON – With less than four hours to go until the end of the school year, Burlington teachers have voted to resume their strike that ended in September after several days of intense negotiations with school board representatives. School children in Burlington still have one day of school left until summer vacation, but when that day will eventually happen is currently unknown. Community members were livid, demanding to know the reasons for this last minute decision, but most parents were very supportive.
“It was only a half day anyway,” said one parent of a C.P. Smith Elementary School student. “Honestly, this is great. At some point in the middle of summer, I’m going to get to send my kid to school again. It will be like a mini surprise vacation for me! I may go to a spa, or just get some work done around the house. I wish they’d do this every year.”
The reasons for the strike stem from the school board not actually following through on any of their promises in the fall. Teachers are still underpaid, overworked, underappreciated, and under-supported. Even after the strike was resolved in September a new contract was not signed until months later, and much of the city’s budget for new positions will either be spent on administrative positions, or on a new initiative to pave over most of the schools’ green spaces to add new roads and parking lots.
“[The strike] was a tough decision,” said one teacher who declined to give his name, “but we were heavily criticized for striking right at the beginning of the school year, so we assumed that this is what the community would prefer. You can’t get any later than this. It’s always great for the people in power to dictate how those not in power should express their desperation. We really appreciate the feedback.”
Leave a Reply