Oregon’s largest district of schools announced late Sunday that it had reached an agreement with the teachers union. Approximately 45,000 students will be returning to school on Monday, after more than a three-week absence.

Teachers who have been on strike since November 1 must vote on the agreement. They are concerned about issues such as pay, class size and planning time. The agreement must be approved by both the teachers and the school board. However, the union has agreed to allow classes to resume until the votes are completed. Portland Public Schools students missed eleven days of school prior to the district’s week-long Thanksgiving holiday.

Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero released a statement saying, “We’re relieved that our students are back in school. We know it has been difficult for everyone to be out of school the past three weeks. Missing classmates, teachers and their learning was hard.”

Teachers’ unions said that the tentative agreement was a win-win for both teachers and students in terms of classroom size, teacher salaries, health, safety, and mental health support for children who are still suffering from the pandemic. The students will be able to make up for missed school days if they cut a week from winter break and add days in the next year.

Angela Bonilla, President of the Portland Teachers Association, said, “This contract represents a turning point for Portland’s students, teachers, and families.” “Educators secured improvements in all of our key issues.” “Educators have walked picketlines alongside families, friends, and allies, and as a result, our schools will receive the additional investment they require.”

PPS stated that the deal would give educators a cumulative cost of living increase of 13.8% over the next three year and around half of all teachers would earn an additional 10.6% through yearly step increases. PPS said that the agreement would increase classroom time in elementary and middle school classrooms starting next year, and also increase teacher planning by 90 minutes per week.

The district will also triple the team members who are dedicated to supporting mental and emotional wellbeing of students.

The last day of school for many students was Halloween.

Parents were generally supportive of the strikers, but some expressed concern about the learning loss that students might suffer, particularly after the prolonged school closures caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. During the strike, there was no online education.

As the talks continued over Thanksgiving, tensions escalated. On Tuesday, teachers marched across a bridge during rush hour and stopped traffic for 15 minutes. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that the rental property of a school board member was vandalized, and posters were taped on his car.

Celebrities, such as actors portraying underfunded and beleaguered teachers in ABC’s hit comedy “Abbott Elementary”, posted videos on Facebook to show their support for the teachers’ union.

Portland Association of Teachers (PAT), which represents over 4,000 educators in the district, has said that this was the first strike of teachers. The union and the district have been in negotiations for months to negotiate a new contract since its previous contract expired in June.

Teachers are angry because of the growing class size, lack classroom support, lack planning time and salaries that don’t keep up with inflation. The district’s annual base salary starts at around $50,000.

Portland Public Schools said repeatedly that it did not have the funds to meet union demands. Oregon legislators approved a record budget of $10.2 billion for K-12 education over the next two-year period in June, but representatives from school districts said it wasn’t sufficient. Some state legislators held a press conference earlier this month on the steps at the Capitol to call for a resolution.

In a statement, the district asked voters to pressure state legislators for better funding of schools and said that it would be forced to cut budgets in order to afford concessions made to the teachers union.