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Strike Looms in Dallas School District

DALLAS TOWNSHIP — Yet another negotiation session ended late Tuesday afternoon without an agreement between the teachers union and Dallas School District ...

DALLAS TOWNSHIP -- Yet another negotiation session ended late Tuesday afternoon without an agreement between the teachers union and Dallas School District officials.

The teachers have been without a contract since September of 2015.

A strike is scheduled for Friday.

"The proposal we gave the district today was fair, reasonable, and affordable. We have the numbers. We have the budget. We have their annual report. We know what's fair,” said John Holland of the PSEA.

"I absolutely do not want to strike on Friday. The best times I have are when I'm in the classroom with the kids, and anytime I'm not there, they're not getting what I can give them, and I'm not getting what they can give me, and the environment in the school now, the tension is really high,” said Michael Cherinka, president of Dallas Education Association.

The main sticking points between the two sides are salaries and health care costs.

"They said they would not pay a penny towards health care and you know, my school board can't do that and won't do that. It's emotional enough as it is. It has destroyed this community. This was truly a great place. All three of my children go to school here, and right now, these issues with this union contract have caused very serious problems in the community,” said District Solicitor Vito DeLuca.

Teachers went on strike in Dallas School District last year. The strike lasted for 22 days.

District officials say the teachers stayed out longer than they were allowed under state law.

The board docked the teachers' pay and the union filed a grievance.

There is no word how long this potential strike could last.

"They don't want to pay anything for their health care, now back in the '70s and '80s, yes that happened, but this is the 2010s. Everybody pays something for their health care,” said Brian Whalen of Kingston Township.

"Some of my professors had to bring their kids to class because they couldn't go to school and they couldn't afford to buy them daycare or anything. That was definitely stressful for them,” said Misericordia University student Megan Peace.

Because of that concern over childcare, daycares in the Dallas area are gearing up for the strike, too.

"We will have probably at least 22 extra children at the daycare as the strike goes on. We have to have extra staff. The parents they do have to pay a little bit extra unfortunately because they're there for a little bit longer, so it's a little bit of a toll on the parents, too,” said Pam Hoffman of Back Mountain Day Care.

There is a possible negotiation session set for Thursday.

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