By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

CHICAGO – The Huffington Post is reporting that the Chicago teachers strike “is nearing resolution,” after “the thorny issue of teacher evaluations was mostly settled Thursday evening.”

Many analysts have concluded the strike has primarily been about preventing state test scores from being used to evaluate a teacher’s classroom performance.

MORE NEWS: From Classroom to Consulate Chef: Culinary Student Lands Dream Job at U.S. Embassy in Paris

The issues of “teacher salaries, the school calendar and so-called recall rights” for laid off teachers are still being negotiated, the Huffington Post reports.

Insiders close to the negotiations say the upcoming presidential election has Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel especially eager to reach a deal with the teachers union. Emanuel served as President Obama’s chief of staff before being elected mayor in 2011.

HuffPost reports that “the Obama campaign is concerned a prolonged strike would depress voter enthusiasm among teachers – a key Democratic constituency – in the weeks leading up to the election.”

An Emanuel spokeswoman and an Obama campaign official both strongly denied there is any pressure from the White House to get a deal done, which makes the story seem even more credible.

Regardless of what’s motivating the two sides, most Americans would say the most important thing is to return students to the classroom as soon as possible.

We agree, though we’d hate to see the Chicago Teachers Union walk away from their child-like temper tantrum in a stronger position than before. Rewarding bad behavior is never the answer.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

As things currently stand, Chicago Public Schools cannot balance its books (the district is nearing a $1 billion deficit) or educate its students (a 60 percent graduation rate). The district needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, but this soon-to-be deal probably will only tinker around the edges.

It will provide a victory for the CTU, a missed opportunity for education reformers … and just another reason for Chicago’s students to feel cheated.

In other words, the beat goes on.