COLUMBUS, Ohio — On the second day of a teacher strike in the state’s largest school district, most of the talking came from the picket lines.
“Whose schools? Our schools? Whose schools? Our schools?”
“What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!”
This call and response came along a picket line in front of Livingston Elementary.
The strike marks the first time that the teachers’ union has gone on strike since 1975.
The Columbus Education Association and Columbus City Schools announced Tuesday afternoon the federal mediator overseeing negotiations called them back to the bargaining table beginning Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Following an emergency meeting Monday night, CCS Board President Jennifer Adair said: “We don’t have action on that to report yet, but we will soon.” A spokeswoman for CCS said there were no updates Tuesday afternoon.
Regina Fuentes, a spokeswoman for CEA, said: “We are ready. If they were to call us right here today we would go back to the table and finish this and get our kids back in school.”
While the district’s final offer to the CEA included increased pay – including a 3% annual pay increase, retention bonuses and a promise to fix problematic conditions inside the district’s aging school buildings.
But the union wants specific contract language that will guarantee when and how the district intends to fix the problems.
“And the problem is they want to go with that ambiguous language that says “ah, we might get this done at a reasonable time” reasonable is not good enough,” Regina Fuentes with CEA told 10 Investigates Tuesday
10 Investigates found since March health and safety inspectors flagged 32 CCS schools for issues that needed to be fixed – like leaking or missing ceiling tiles, water intrusion and chipping lead paint that needed to be encapsulated.
At Livingston Elementary, 10 Investigates found inspections in 2018 found issues with water-stained ceiling tiles. The similar issue was discovered in 2019 with a suspected roof leak as a cause. In 2022, an inspector found more of the similar issues – noting that “ceiling tiles with water damage” were found in a classroom and a hall.
You read more about CCS “final offer” to CEA by visiting here.
CCS posted to its website a notice that classes will begin the school year with online learning.
The district is planning to host a virtual planning for parents on what they need to know beginning at 6 p.m. Parents who need to sign-in can visit here.