First report - strike averted!

The first report on the contract settlement comes via KCBS: San Francisco Schools Avoid Teacher Strike

San Francisco schools will not face a teacher strike following a tentative agreement between the district and the teachers union.

I took the liberty of transcribing excerpts from Dennis Kelly's and Gwen Chan's statements at the press conference. First, Dennis Kelley:

This contract reflects a commitment on the part of this administration to show respect for teachers, paras, and all other school employees. I'm proud of the hard work and dedication that our San Francisco educators have demonstrated during these difficult times. We are grateful for the generous support we have received from the community and we look forward to focusing our efforts on continuing to improve the education in the classroom.

And I would like to say that we are especially grateful for the involvement of superintendent Chan in this particular round of negotiations. We fervently believe that her involvement helped make the settlement that we were able to come to possible.

Followed by Superintendent Chan:

Having gone through the ranks myself, I know firsthand how hard our faculty and staff work at the school sites. And so I'm so glad that we're able to provide them with this long overdue raise and a strong, strong benefits package.

While I am relieved, I also know that I have a heavy responsibility of identifying over $6 million worth of cuts for the next school year and over $13 million for the following year to the board of education. I think it's really essential that we work together to get more revenue from the state and other revenue sources.