Teachers in three states have voted to authorise strikes, with margins of more than 90 percent in two of them.
The disputes share a theme: class sizes that have crept up while budgets have not. In one district, a typical elementary classroom now holds 34 students, up from 27 five years ago.
Union leaders stress that a strike remains a last resort. Negotiations continue in all three states, and a mediator has been appointed in one. Parents’ groups have largely backed the teachers, organising food banks and community childcare in case schools close.
