The parent of a Reynoldsburg school student has filed a lawsuit seeking to close the district until a teachers strike ends. Tom Drabick, the attorney representing the parent, says the school board and district leaders have failed to provide a safe and secure educational environment. Drabick cites a fight at the high school, students running through the halls and a lack of adult supervision. A district spokesperson has yet to comment. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald visited the picket line yesterday, saying the week-long strike is getting statewide attention. Ohio Public Radio's Andy Chow reports.
NATS: “We are. Raider strong. We are. Raider strong.”
Teachers, students and other supporters lined up outside of the Reynoldsburg High School’s Livingston Campus—protesting for a new contract.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ed FitzGerald met with supporters along the picket line. The Cuyahoga County executive just wrapped up a four-day tour all around the state and says many educators are keeping a close eye on what happens in Reynoldsburg.
FitzGerald: “In some ways this is sort of a bellwether for these kinds of issues. I wish I could tell you I think this is the last time this is going to happen but the fact that the state has disinvested hundreds of millions of dollars from our local schools means it’s probably going to happen more frequently than it used to.”
Kathy Evans is the spokesperson for the Reynoldsburg teachers union. She and FitzGerald both believe the negotiation sticking points seem to reflect similar ideas from a highly controversial piece of legislation from three years ago.
Evans: “I feel like this is definitely a continuance of some of the things they were trying to put in place in Senate Bill 5.”
That attempt at an overhaul of collective bargaining rights in Ohio was repealed in 2011. It would’ve banned teachers from even carrying out this strike and also would have taken off the table negotiations about class sizes—a main divider between the district and union.
Evans: “Class sizes remain one of our strongest points that we’re trying to get across. We’d like to see some kind of limit or cap on class sizes. We had 20% of our teaching staff resign or retire or take a leave of absence at the end of last school year.”
District Spokesperson Tricia Moore says every Kindergarten through 4th Grade classroom has 25 students or less. In the middle schools—she says the number hovers around 25 with a few exceptions. So—according to Moore—the variables when it comes to class size boil down to student choice and the electives they want to take.
Moore: “There’s a little bit more variation but a teacher but a teacher’s load could range from 8 or 9 students all the way up to—our very highest is 35 in an elective course.”
Moore says the strike has been tough on everyone but has been a major disruption to student learning on several levels.
Moore: “It’s been really difficult on our students. It’s been a big change for them their teachers are not only not in the classroom but they’re standing in front of the buildings and so they’re often in site and within earshot so I think it’s been a challenge for at least some of our students to acclimate to that.”
The district and teachers union plan to meet with a federal mediator this weekend in hopes of coming to an agreement that would end the strike.
