The Latest: Arizona schools reopen after teacher walkout

PHOENIX – The Latest on the end of a six-day teacher walkout in Arizona (all times local):

7:50 a.m.

Most Arizona schools closed during a six-day teacher walkout over pay raises and education funding have reopened.

Teachers back at work Friday at a high school in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa lined up to greet students with cheers and handshakes. The principal of an elementary school on the other side of the Phoenix metro area greeted students with high-fives.

Teachers at an elementary school in the Chandler suburb hugged each other and wrapped their arms around each other’s shoulders as they walked in from the staff parking lot.

Strike organizers called for an end to the walkout Thursday after an all-night legislative session resulted in a 20 per cent pay raise by 2020. Most districts planned to reopen Friday. But the largest Tucson district will resume classes next week.

The education funding plan approved Thursday by the Legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey awards teachers a 9 per cent raise next fall and 5 per cent in each of the next two years. That’s in addition to a 1 per cent raise granted last year.

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11:20 p.m.

Hundreds of thousands of Arizona schoolchildren can go back to class now that the Legislature passed an education funding deal, ending a six-day walkout that shuttered classrooms around the state.

Strike organizers called for an end to the walkout Thursday after a dramatic all-night legislative session resulted in a 20 per cent pay raise by 2020. Some districts plan to reopen Friday, while others say they’ll resume classes next week.

The education funding plan approved by lawmakers shortly before dawn was immediately signed by Gov. Doug Ducey, awarding teachers a 9 per cent raise in the fall and 5 per cent in each of the next two years. That’s in addition to a 1 per cent raise granted last year.