The union for striking Tacoma teachers and the school district have agreed to come back to the bargaining table, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Wednesday morning .

The union for striking Tacoma teachers had said that school district negotiators walked away from the table Tuesday night, and no talks were planned Wednesday, the seventh day classes have been canceled.

Gregoire said Thursday morning that she is monitoring the strike and might call both sides to Olympia.

"There is no question that the Tacoma teacher strike has continued for far too long -- disrupting the lives of families and the 28,000 students who need to be in school. I directed, and both sides have agreed to return to the bargaining table this morning," Gregoire said in a statement. "If no deal is reached by 3 p.m. this afternoon, both the district and the union will report to my office and stay until their differences are reconciled and the school doors reopen."

The union says teachers will continue to picket. The district says schools remain closed due to lack of staff. Strikers are ignoring a court order.

The union says on its website that it made a new proposal on the main issue in the strike, teacher assignment policies. The district wants to consider other factors in addition to seniority in moving some teachers.

The district is the third-largest in the state, after Seattle and Spokane. Tacoma has about 1,900 teachers and 28,000 students.