Mead teachers and other staff may go on strike next week if their union bargaining team can’t reach a new contract agreement with the Mead School Board by midnight Sunday.

A strike by the Mead Education Association could delay the start of school, which is scheduled for Tuesday.

About 97% of the union members who attended a Thursday meeting voted in favor of authorizing their bargaining team to call a strike if even a tentative agreement for a contract isn’t reached by the deadline. If no agreement is reached, the union bargaining team can then call for a strike at any point.

It’s the first time since the 1970s that the union has held a strike authorization vote, said union President Toby Doolittle.

Representatives from the union and school district are scheduled to meet on Friday for

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