A judge ruled Thursday afternoon for Pulaski County teachers in their fight with the Pulaski County School Board. Circuit Judge Timothy Davis Fox said that the Board had exceeded its authority in voting to withdraw recognition of the teachers’ union, the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers, and that the existing contract between PACT and the School District remains in effect.
Judge Fox didn’t rule for PACT on every question. He held that the “one-day Fair Treatment Walkout” by some teachers on December 10, 2009, was indeed a strike. Pact had insisted the walkout was not a strike, because, among other reasons, the teachers who left were only using accrued leave. Still, the contract provided that no reprisal would be taken against a teacher for participating in a strike, and that contract is still in effect, the judge said. His ruling means that school board and teachers will again have to sit down and negotiate.
— Doug Smith