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“We’ve had an alarming degree of unwillingness by the (school) board to compromise with the teachers on several key issues that directly impact the quality and stability of classroom instruction,” Romick said.
Romick said there’s not a lone, major issue holding up talks because the school board started this year’s bargaining with 241 new proposals to negotiate.
“That in and of itself is unusual and unreasonable,” he said. “There are still a number of issues on the table that are going to take some time to resolve.”
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The teachers union held meetings at three Dayton sites Tuesday night and said they remain committed to the negotiations. That process is being led by a federal mediator, with sessions planned each day this week.
DPS Superintendent Rhonda Corr issued a similar statement just after the teachers rallied Tuesday.
“We remain committed to the mediation process over the next several days, and remain optimistic that a settlement will be reached,” Corr said. “We respect our teachers and all of our employees, and value their dedication to the Dayton Public Schools.”
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Corr has talked in town hall meetings about being pro-union, saying her late father was vice president of a U.S. Steel union and her mother was a bus driver. But she also says the focus should not be on the employees.
“I am pro-union, but before I’m pro-union, I’m pro-kids,” Corr said at a town hall last week. “We are here for children. We are not a factory for jobs, we are not a career center.”
Dayton Public Schools’ last day of classes is May 26, and the union legally would have to give the school district 10 days notice of a strike, so the rest of the school year will not be disrupted.
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Romick said teachers would look toward the beginning of the school year Aug. 15 “in the unfortunate event that (a strike) would become necessary.”
DEA is taking that possibility seriously, handing out a flier urging teachers to take home any personal belongings that they use in the classroom, rather than leaving them at school this summer.
“Due to the board’s unwillingness to compromise on many key contractual items, the potential of our return to school in August being delayed, is very real,” the flier reads.
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Four years ago, when DPS teachers’ last contract expired, no deal was reached in the summer and teachers continued working into the next school year under the terms of the expired contract. A new agreement was finally signed in December 2013.
But this time, teachers have already been holding “No contract = no work” signs at school board meetings and other events.
“It is time for the Dayton Public Schools board and administration to renew their focus, take a step back and listen to the community by coming to the table ready to bargain,” Romick said. “We’ll be there at 9 a.m. tomorrow.”
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