Schools

Strongsville Teachers' Union Wants to Negotiate 'For As Long As it Takes'

SEA suspends picketing for the weekend

 

The Strongsville Education Association Friday called on the Board of Education to stay in negotiations until the two sides reach an agreement that will end the seven-week old teachers strike. 

A bargaining session is set for 2 p.m. Sunday.

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"We are calling fo rhe board to stay there for as long as it takes to settle this contract," Tracy Linscott, SEA president, said at a news conference Friday morning.

Meanwhile, the teachers union will suspend picketing for the weekend as a symbolic gesture. 

Find out what's happening in Strongsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A group of teachers gathered in the rain Friday morning for the press conference, where Linscott accused the School Board of prolonging the strike.

"This board will not allow the strike to end because it has become personal," she said.

She also said the union is not asking for a share of the $3.2 million in tax revenue the School Board last week announced had come in unexpectedly.

Instead, she said the union is seeking part of the $2 million she says the district has saved on teacher salaries during the strike.

The proposals now on the table are only about $900,000 apart over the three years of the contract, Linscott said.

In addition, Linscott condemned the School Board for "dispicable behavior" at its meeting Thursday night, claiming the board "rigged the entire public comment section."

Tempers flared at the meeting when 17 of the 20 people allowed to speak supported the School Board or were critical of the SEA. 

SEA members and supporters yelled objections when School Board President David Frazee closed public comments; one man who shouted obscenities was escorted out by police.

Frazee said after the meeting he called names in order that the request slips were handed in, other than possibly two students whose slips were placed on top of the stack by administrators during the meeting.

Also at the meeting, one of two student liaisons to the board, Jordan Kelley, resigned his position, saying he could no longer serve with people who had threatened and insulted him and denied him an education.

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

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