Last week labor negotiations between Seattle Public Schools and the teacher's union made headlines when the union accused Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson of firing more than three thousand schoolteachers and other certified employees.

According to the union, Goodloe-Johnson sent out letters to teachers which stated "there is probable cause to nonrenew your contract."

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson informed 3,300 teachers that she was terminating their contracts and offered them a new one with one less day. By doing so, the teacher's union is accusing Goodloe-Johnson of firing the schoolteachers and probably breaking the law.

"Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson's decision to fire nearly all of Seattle's teachers is bizarre," said Olga Addae, Seattle Education Association president. "Her actions are a flagrant violation of state labor law. She can't do it, and even if she could, what she's doing is a slap in the face to every teacher in Seattle."

Two cadres of people left the Seattle Public Schools district office Wednesday with disappointment and concern, those who fought against using a certain math textbook and those worried about layoffs.

The school board, by a 4-3 vote, approved a math committee's recommendation to replace the four, integrated instructional materials now used in high school classrooms with the Discovery Series next school year, which affects algebra, geometry, advanced algebra, pre-calculus, calculus and statistics.

For the first time in over a decade, Seattle high schools are very close to receiving a new math textbook series.

That is dependent on the outcome of Wednesday's school board meeting, where a vote is scheduled on switching from four, integrated series of math instructional materials to just the Discovery Series. Teachers and students voiced numerous objections to Discovery at the April 22 board meeting, and after lengthy discussion, each board member indicated how they would vote, which would have resulted in a 3-3 deadlock.

Members of a local school employees union that includes cooks continue to object to the district's plans to prepare food off site at a central kitchen starting this fall.

Several dozen of them took to the street outside the Seattle Public Schools district office ahead of Wednesday's regular board meeting.

Emotions ran wild last night as the Seattle School Board voted to approve a plan to close several schools and to relocate and eliminate a number of programs.

One day before the Seattle School Board is scheduled to vote on a plan to close schools and relocate, or eliminate, as many as 13 programs, several of the board members have recommended changes.

Days before the Seattle School Board is scheduled to vote on whether to close four Seattle public schools, hundreds of people gathered on Sunday afternoon at T. T. Minor Elementary School to march to Garfield Community Center to protest the plan.