PORTLAND, Ore. — Nearly 50,000 students will be back in class Monday morning after Portland Public Schools (PPS) and the teachers union came to a tentative agreement on Sunday, ending a nearly month-long strike. Schools will start on a two-hour delay.
"We’re excited. We’re excited to see the teachers. We’re excited to be back in the classrooms," said Jazzmin Reece, a parent to two PPS students.
Many parents said they're relieved children will be back in school after missing 11 days of instruction.
"If they didn’t go back yet, it would have been another really rough week. I am very, very, very thankful they came up with an agreement," said Christi Smith, a PPS parent.
Both PPS and the union said this contract will end long-standing disputes over wage increases, planning time and class sizes.
While the agreement is still considered tentative, both union members and the PPS School Board are expected to ratify the contract on Tuesday. Angela Bonilla, the president of the teachers union, expressed her confidence in an approval Sunday night.
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Now, students and families will re-adjust to life on a set schedule.
"My kindergartener had just started at a brand-new school and she’s going to basically have to adjust to that all over again," said Anna Campbell, a PPS parent. "I think we all wish it could have happened much faster."
Even though school closures were difficult for many families, Campbell said she's hopeful this agreement will improve her children's education.
"I think that if our kids get a better education and if our teachers are able to provide what is needed in the classroom, then of course, it's worth it," she said. "Was the impact of three weeks off of school easy on our children? No."
Both Reece and Campbell said they hope the strike is a wake-up call and Oregonians should demand more state funding for public schools.
"Parents need to come together, the general public, voters need to come together and be very strategic about changing the funding system here in Oregon," Reece said.