Allegheny Valley Teachers Could Walk Thursday

The union representing the 94 teachers in the Allegheny Valley School District has given the school board a 48-hour strike notice. The teachers could hit the picket lines as early as Thursday. The two sides have been fighting over a contract for more than a year. Board President Scott Redman says the state negotiator has called for a meeting tonight and although he does not think an agreement can be reached in one evening he is hopeful some progress can be made and a strike averted. Redman says a strike plan has been put in place and a letter has been sent home with the students. That plan includes web updates, email and phone communications and a plan to continue extra curricular activities whenever possible. Redman says there is also a plan to open school for seniors to preserve the graduation date. He says that portion of the plan will not be implemented unless the strike drags on. The union has not said how long it will stay off the job. Once the strike starts the state will issue an opinion on when the teachers must return to get the necessary 180 days of instruction in before June 15^th. Redman says he thinks the residents of the district are behind the board and its effort to keep an eye on the district’s financial bottom line. The two sides last met face-to-face September 9^th. Salary and healthcare costs continue to prove to be stumbling blocks in the negotiations.