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Four Area School Districts Call Off Classes Due To Teacher Walkout

Four local school districts called off classes Thursday and Friday due to the possibility of teachers walking out of their classrooms.  KAWC's Kim Johnson reports.........

Classes at Yuma Elementary District One, Somerton Elementary District, Gadsden Elementary District and Yuma Union High School District have been cancelled for Thursday and Friday due to the expected strike of public school teachers.  More than 70% of Arizona teachers reportedly voted last week to walk off the job to increase teacher pay and funding for K thru 12 education.

High School District Communications Director Eric Patten says the decision was made to call off classes after Superintendent Gina Thompson asked the district's teachers if they were planning on participating in the strike...............

PATTEN...We put out a message asking teachers who were going to be walking out to put in a request for a substitute teacher.  When the data came back showing how many substitutes had been requested, we just aren't able to fulfill those sub requests and can't provide enough adult supervision for the number of students that we have on our campuses...:17

Patten says District Services, including mail, food service and warehouse delivery will be closed during the work stoppage.  He says the district will be using social media, the district website and a letter being sent home with students to keep parents informed.  I'm Kim Johnson KAWC News.