Why teachers from one of Ohio's largest school districts are on strike
August 22, 2022
JACLYN DIAZ
Members of the Columbus Education Association rally earlier this summer ahead of their vote this past Sunday night to officially strike this week.
August 22, 2022
JACLYN DIAZ
Members of the Columbus Education Association rally earlier this summer ahead of their vote this past Sunday night to officially strike this week.
Columbus Education Association/Facebook
When children in the Columbus, Ohio, education system start their school year this Wednesday, they will likely be doing so online, as the school district's nearly 4,500 teachers hit the picket lines.
For the first time in nearly 50 years, the district's unionized teachers are striking, the Columbus Education Association (CEA) announced.
On Sunday, the union voted to go on strike after weeks of negotiations over new contract language with Columbus City Schools went nowhere. The union says it was pushing for guaranteed air conditioning, "appropriate class sizes" and full-time art, music and physical education teachers in the city's elementary schools.
Jennifer Adair, the Board of Education president, said in a statement that the decision by the union to strike is an "unfortunate situation" for families, the community and children.
"Our offer to CEA put children first and prioritized their education and their growth. We offered a generous compensation package for teachers and provisions that would have a positive impact on classrooms," Adair said in the statement. "Our offer was also responsive to the concerns that have been raised by CEA during the negotiations process. Our community's children are the Board's priority, and our offer reflected that fact."
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The fact that students will be starting the new year with online schooling "is not ideal," Adair said. "But," she added, "we have an obligation to continue educating and supporting students despite the current circumstances."
This strike comes as schools across the U.S. are scrambling to fill vacancies brought on by a teacher shortage. The country is facing a shortage of 300,000 teachers, according to the National Education Association.
After dealing with two years of illness and disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about school safety and a feeling of lack of respect, teachers have reported being burned out, demoralized and fed up.
When children in the Columbus, Ohio, education system start their school year this Wednesday, they will likely be doing so online, as the school district's nearly 4,500 teachers hit the picket lines.
For the first time in nearly 50 years, the district's unionized teachers are striking, the Columbus Education Association (CEA) announced.
On Sunday, the union voted to go on strike after weeks of negotiations over new contract language with Columbus City Schools went nowhere. The union says it was pushing for guaranteed air conditioning, "appropriate class sizes" and full-time art, music and physical education teachers in the city's elementary schools.
Jennifer Adair, the Board of Education president, said in a statement that the decision by the union to strike is an "unfortunate situation" for families, the community and children.
"Our offer to CEA put children first and prioritized their education and their growth. We offered a generous compensation package for teachers and provisions that would have a positive impact on classrooms," Adair said in the statement. "Our offer was also responsive to the concerns that have been raised by CEA during the negotiations process. Our community's children are the Board's priority, and our offer reflected that fact."
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The fact that students will be starting the new year with online schooling "is not ideal," Adair said. "But," she added, "we have an obligation to continue educating and supporting students despite the current circumstances."
This strike comes as schools across the U.S. are scrambling to fill vacancies brought on by a teacher shortage. The country is facing a shortage of 300,000 teachers, according to the National Education Association.
After dealing with two years of illness and disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about school safety and a feeling of lack of respect, teachers have reported being burned out, demoralized and fed up.
Niko Mann
August 22, 2022
(Shutterstock.com)
The Columbus Education Association union voted to go on strike on Sunday, just days before the start of the school year, according to NBC4. Classes were to begin on Wednesday.
According to the Columbus Education Association, 94 percent of CEA members voted to strike for the first time since 1975.
"BREAKING: 94% of Columbus Education Association (CEA) members voted to reject the Board’s last, best and final offer and go on strike for the first time since 1975."
Union spokesperson Regina Fuentes said that teachers were striking over building conditions, class size, better pay and the lack of art and physical education classes.
“We understand that parents are in a difficult space right now, but we also want them to understand we are doing this for the students of Columbus, and we truly are making this sacrifice because we want the schools that Columbus students deserve," said Fuentes. "They need to come through with accountability to let our students, our parents know that they are actually going to fix these schools. We will continue fighting until we have safe, properly maintained and fully resourced schools in every neighborhood," she added.
Columbus Board of Education president Jennifer Adair said she was disappointed by the strike and called the union’s decision “incredibly disappointing."
“Our offer to CEA put our children first and prioritized their education and growth,” said Adair. “We believe we offered a generous compensation package for our teachers and provisions that would positively impact their classrooms and our students." Classes are still scheduled to commence on Wednesday despite the strike. Students will attend online classes led by substitute teachers, but all sports-related activities will be canceled for the time being. An emergency meeting will be held on Monday evening in Columbus. The Columbus City School District serves 47,000 students.
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