School starts tomorrow morning, business-as-usual. Teachers will welcome students into their classrooms to begin another year of education.

But there was an important difference, sight-unseen: those teachers will not be working under contract.

The most recent employment contract between teacher representative Sumner Education Association and the Sumner School District expired with the close of August, after being drafted three years before.

It’s a story not-at-all unique to Sumner after state lawmakers passed a budget including a 1.9 percent cut in state funding for teacher compensation (though it should be noted that not all districts use the same proportion of state to local funding for teacher pay). Teachers in nearby Tacoma began school Thursday without a contract.

“The two things teachers and the district still need to look at is the 1.9 percent cut and the reallocation of funds to pay teachers,” district spokesperson Ann Cook said. “It’s amicable and we expect to have a contract in a few weeks.”

The next collective bargaining meeting between the district and the Sumner Education Association is scheduled for Sept. 15.

SEA President Hillary Bertaux could not immediately be contacted for comment.