Teachers strike in Capistrano school district
By Carla Rivera/Los Angeles Times
Schools in the Capistrano Unified School District opened Thursday with fewer students in classrooms, scores of unfamiliar substitutes and disordered schedules, as hundreds of striking teachers took to picket lines in a labor dispute. Attendance in the 51,000-pupil district was down substantially, with about 39% of students in class, according to preliminary estimates. About 220 regular classroom teachers — 12% of the teaching force —- crossed picket lines and 600 substitutes were hired to provide additional classroom supervision, said Julie Hatchel, a district spokeswoman. Some students who arrived on campus decided to leave and were released to their parents. (more...)