MUKILTEO TEACHERS STRIKE IS SETTLED

----EVERETT Mukilteo teachers voted Monday evening to approve a new contract and end the longest teachers' strike in the nation this year.

The 33-day strike was the longest in Washington state history. The district's 460 teachers ratified it by voice vote.

Classes are set to start Wednesday for the district's 9,100 students. Mukilteo is a suburb of Everett.

Agreement was reached earlier in the day after a 20-hour negotiating session but contract details were not immediately available.

Key issues included class size, teacher assignment and transfer policies, school decision-making panels and pay for extra time, responsibility and incentives.

The strike began Aug. 30.