Rowdy Crowd Addresses Strongsville School Board

Some 700 people filled the auditorium at Strongsville High School Thursday night for a meeting of the Strongsville School Board, the first since a teachers' strike started March 4.

About 20 residents and students were allowed to talk during the hour-long public comment section, with all but a couple speaking in favor of the Board of Education.

"I am not anti-teacher," one woman said, speaking through tears. "But I guarantee you, I am anti-SEA (Strongsville Education Association)."

"You've handled yourselves with the highest degree of professionalism," another woman told the board.

Several thanked the board for keeping schools open during the strike and urged members not to back down on contract issues.

The speaker selection drew outrage from teachers and their supporters in the crowd, who charged that School Board President David Frazee hand-picked those who would speak from a thick stack of requests.

About 50 people who gathered outside the high school afterward said they asked to speak, but didn't get a chance, while three members of the same family did get called on.

"Why didn't Dave Frazee have this (meeting) in his back yard if he only wanted his friends to speak?" one woman asked.

Frazee, reached after the meeting, said he called on speakers in the order they submitted requests. 

"It was first in, first out," he said. "I hand-picked nobody."

He added, however, that he believes two students' slips may have been added to the top of the stack by Superintendent John Krupinski.

The public comment section ended with yelling among the two sides and police escorting several people from the room.

During his report, Krupinski told the crowd that if the district had closed schools during the strike, students would now be attending classes till July 16.

"It is my hope we can come back together with an agreement that is sustainable," Krupinski said.

Many of the speakers got emotional as they told the board that their children are getting an education despite the strike.

"My daughter continues to learn every day," one woman said, to jeers and laughs from the SEA supporters in the crowd.

Another woman said she didn't choose a side until she saw an SEA memo that directed as many teachers as possible to picket outside board member Carl Naso's Beachwood workplace Thursday morning, saying there was a rumor Naso's employer was going to take action against him for the picketing.

An estimated 100 picketers stood outside Naso's office on Thursday, blowing whistles and shouting. Smaller groups have been there several times before.

"I didn't know we had teachers who would stoop to this level," the resident said.

Another woman also decried what she called "bullying" behavior.

"What I have to say to the SEA is 'shame on you,'" she said.

Teachers have come under fire for picketing at board members' homes and workplaces, and for shouting at substitute teachers applying for jobs March 3.

One man said teachers have displayed "some of the most reprehensible behavior I've ever seen," while another blamed union officials for leading good teachers astray.

"We now see you through the cloud of horrible leadership and despicable actions," he said. "Stand up -- ask for new leadership."

One middle school student disagreed with the parents about the value of education during the strike, saying she and her friends were learning nothing from the substitutes.

A man agreed, saying his daughter has to frequently correct her substitute Spanish teacher. He said there has been a "disconnect" between what the school board says and what is actually going on in the schools.

A high school senior cried when she spoke about the teachers leaving the classrooms.

"It really hurts me as a student to see our teachers walk out on us like this," she said. "It's hard for me to respect these people any more."

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For other stories on the teachers' strike, click here.

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