The familiar sight of yellow and black buses was a welcome sign to many in Hermitage that school was back in session after a seven-day strike kept students out of school since Mar. 21.

"Everything is going smoothly," said Hermitage Superintendent Karen Ionta.

Teachers went on strike after negotiations broke down between the board and the 165-member Hermitage Education Association March 19. The two sides have been negotiating the teachers' contract since January 2001. The contract expired last July.

The strike pushed the last day of school from June 5 to June 14. Commencement has also been rescheduled for June 14.

Sports events, such as track meets and a girls softball game Saturday, were also rescheduled because of the strike. The baseball team's first game was played Friday. Head baseball coach, Hermitage City Manager Gary Hinkson, is not a teacher but the head coaches of both softball and track are both teachers.

Non-binding final arbitration is the next step for the two sides to work out their issues and should technically take 45 days, but could be stretched out longer with the arbitrator's approval, said HEA chief negotiator Paul Estock, a sixth grade teacher in the district.

The HEA and the board can pick from three forms of arbitration: single package; issue-by-issue; or economic versus non-economic.

The HEA has chosen issue-by-issue arbitration, which allows the arbitrator to go over each issue offered by both sides, Estock said. The school board has chosen single package arbitration, Mrs. Ionta said. That allows the arbitrator to pick either side's package, without any changes to the package.

The mediator from the state's labor relations board has the final say on the form of arbitration, according to Estock. The arbitrator, also appointed by the labor relations board, then steps in to do the actual arbitration. "There's not much difference here between fact-finding and arbitration. Its still a third party," he said. "This is what we asked for in the first place."

Once non-binding final arbitration is finished, both sides still have the right to agree or disagree with the arbitrator's decision. If either side votes it down, a second strike could occur, keeping the students in school until June 30, the state-mandated last day of school. "We're just glad to get back to the business of education," Hermitage school board President Duane Piccirilli said.