Today marks the seventh day that Penns Manor students were not in the classroom as the educators continue to strike for a new contract.
We found out educators had a new addition to the picket line today – as they were accompanied by some students.
“I support these teachers a hundred percent,”
Reed is the mother of two elementary students in the Penns Manor School District.
“Every morning my sons love to watch and look at pictures of all the teachers and today they finally got to come out,”
Reed and her sons walked the picket line alongside their teachers Tuesday morning she said, “because our teachers are fighting for a fair contract.”
Reed says her youngest son, a first grade student at Penns Manor even made a sign to show his support because they stand with the educators wanting a contract where certain spouses are not threatened to be excluded from healthcare plans.
“It says we need to come back and he wrote it all by himself and you can see it because these teachers mean the world to these students.”
During this time, Reed says she and her sons are doing a little bit of school work here and there while they wait to return to the classroom and they say they’re excited to return.
“In the long run its going to be a lot harder for them to catch up going back because we all know how Covid hit and then they had to go to that and now their off when all the school board needs to do is just give a little instead of take a lot,” added Reed.
Reed says until a new contract can be reached, she and her sons will be back on the picket line alongside the educators, “They missed their teachers so much.”
A Negotiations Committee meeting was held Tuesday morning but an official says an agreement wasn’t reached.
“For the second straight time, the teacher’s association chose to end the negotiating session for the day. The district is extremely disappointed that the teachers have chosen this path, as it means our students will remain out of the classroom. The district wanted our children back in the classroom tomorrow and fully expressed it’s willingness to remain here at the district office for as long as it took today to reach a tentative agreement.”
The district has maintained since the strike began that they want an agreement that’s fair to the district and the taxpayers.
A school board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow evening at six o’clock.
