FOREST CITY -- Students in the Forest City Regional School District in Susquehanna County could have an extended Thanksgiving vacation because the teachers are calling for a strike.
Teachers called for a strike scheduled to begin Tuesday, December 1.
Teachers in Forest City have not gone on strike since the mid-1970s, but this district may follow several others in our area that had school disrupted this year because of teacher walkouts.
Teachers in the Forest City Regional School District have been working without a contract since the start of the school year. After months of negotiations, they've said enough is enough and plan to strike the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
School disruptions sometimes happen in the Forest City area this time of year. Almost all of those times, it's because of the snow.
"They've done so far great with no snow days or anything," said Crystal Ondrako.
But not this time; teachers in the Forest City Regional School District have set December 1 as the day they will strike after months of failed negotiations with the school board.
"We've pushed our date back once already. It was originally in October. We were making some progress at that time, so we pushed our date back," explained union president Bridget Moran.
Moran points to salaries, professional development, and cost containment as the main issues.
Negotiations have been going on for months with little luck. But despite being the talk of the town all that time, parents we spoke to are nervous about what impact an actual strike would have on their families.
"It's a little bit stressful, especially since the kids love being in school and they don't want to miss out on it," said parent Pamela Welfel.
Welfel is a mother of three and just one of the many parents worried about what a strike would mean for them and their family.
"It's a huge difference because then we have to find babysitters and worry about the kids being home with the babysitter, wondering if they're going to pick up on their schoolwork once they do get back, how far behind are they going to be."
"I'm really hoping they don't," said Ondrako. "I'm hoping they can settle before then because it would really be a bummer if kids had to miss school."
There has just been one more bargaining session set up to happen this weekend before the strike is set to start on December 1.
The school board president told Newswatch 16 that it's up to the teachers as to whether Forest City will see its first strike in 40 years.
The school board issued this statement:
The Forest City Regional School District has been in negotiations with the Forest City Regional Education Association (FCREA) for the past several months. Their contract expired on August 31st of this year. A strike notice has been filed by the FCREA for November 30, 2015.
Although several concessions and financial offers have been made by the District in an effort to settle this, we have not yet reached an agreement. On November 18th we came to an impasse at negotiations and neither party felt that any further movement could be made. We asked that the union consider postponing the strike and enter into fact finding to help both sides work through this and come to an agreement without a work stoppage. The FCREA chose not to utilize this option. Both parties would need to agree to it.
The FCREA has recently rejected an offer for a 5 year contract with a guaranteed 2.6% increase each year, the salary matrix provides for additional compensation for professional advancement, and no change in healthcare benefits.
The District respects our teachers as professionals and we are proud of the work that they do. We want nothing but the best for our students and for them. We feel that the financial offers that have been made are fair and in the best interest of the taxpayers.
We are looking at dates to go back to the table and try to work this out and we will do our best to come to an agreement. Scheduling is difficult due to work schedules and the holidays fast approaching, but we are making this a priority.
We understand the impact that a work stoppage will have on our students, our community, our families, as well as other district employees that are not covered under this contract, but we cannot put an unfair financial burden on the taxpayers to stop this. A strike is their choice, not ours. November 30th is their deadline, not ours.
We ask that you, the taxpayer, support your School Board as we continue to work toward a fair and affordable contract with the FCREA. Remember, as school directors, we work for you.
Mary Emmett
President
Forest City Regional School Board
