SCRANTON -- Monday marked the first day teachers in the Scranton School District were out of the classroom and on the picket line.
The strike began Friday, but this was the first day that parents and students had to deal with a day without classes.
The last time teachers from Scranton went on strike was in 1998. Now 17 years later, hundreds of teachers are back on the picket line and thousands of students have nothing to do but wait.
While those teachers are on strike, thousands of parents and guardians, like Liz Sulzer from north Scranton, are not sure when it will end and when students will be back in class.
"I don't think it's fair to them. Like I said, they are going to have a longer school year now. Their summers are going to be cut short and they are going to be getting out later and going back earlier," Sulzer said.
Sulzer cares for her 14-year-old niece who has special needs. With no classes, not only is she losing out on education, but Sulzer is forced to find someone to watch her during the day. It's a problem she says many parents face.
"We have to arrange someone to be there for her to take care of her because if we have work you can't leave her alone," said Sulzer.
Parents say they understand the need for contract negotiations and they hope everything can be resolved soon because they say once the teachers went on strike, the burden shifted from the adults to the kids.
"I feel bad. I mean I know my oldest one here goes to the intermediate school. She says she has already gotten into the knack of things and she just wants to go back," Tabay Willis of west Scranton said.
Rachael Hineline finds herself in the same position. She's a new freshman at Scranton High School. She says the strike is not only keeping her from the books, it's also keeping her from getting to know her new school.
"I just wish that they would figure something out because it's really--I just want to get back in and learn. That's the thing."
The union says no new negotiating sessions are set and the union believes the Scranton teachers strike can last as long as three weeks.
