Teachers' Union Sets Negotiating Session for Saturday, Calls on All 5 Board Members to Attend

The Strongsville Education Association is calling on the five Strongsville School Board members to attend a negotiating session on Saturday. 

A news release from the SEA says the union will be at the North Eastern Ohio Education Association (NEOEA) office in Garfield Heights at noon on March 16.

It is delivering invitations to the homes of David Frazee, Carl Naso, Jennifer Sinisgalli, Richard Micko and Ruth Brickley.

The SEA says the board's attorney has refused to set up a session between the board members and union.

“Either the Board of Education is lying to the public when they say they want to meet and negotiate, or their attorney is withholding information from the Board so as to hijack the process and prolong the strike," SEA President Tracy Linscott said.

Linscott said that "either option is unacceptable. We can only hope the Board members will come on Saturday to negotiate an end to this crisis.”

Neither Superintendent John Krupinski nor Frazee could be reached for comment.

The SEA, which represents 383 teachers and other employees, is in its second week of a strike. 

Teachers are walking picket lines and substitutes are in the classrooms.

The last negotiations took place March 2, when the sides failed to reach an agreement. The SEA voted the next day to strike on March 4.

Since then, Linscott and a representative from the Ohio Education Association have met twice with Krupinski and Bill Pepple, the district's attorney, at a federal mediator's office.

Neither session has ended with new contract negotiations set.

The two sides' proposals can be viewed here.

At the March 2 bargaining table, the School Board presented its Last Best Offer. Linscott, in a news release, said Pepple has since refused to consider the SEA's counter offer.

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Teachers' Strike Day 1: Picket Lines in Strongsville

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A Few Teachers Cross Picket Line; One Teacher Says She was Hit By Car

No New Talks Set in Teachers' Strike; Sides Still Far Apart

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