At least a hundred teachers and their supporters gathered outside the Pleasant Valley High School auditorium Thursday night to protest stalled contract negotiations with the school board.

The protest was held prior to the school board’s regularly scheduled meeting, and leaflets with information about their concerns were handed out to the community.

The teachers have been working without a contract since July.

“This is the first time we have had an expired contract in Pleasant Valley for a very long time,” said Drew Dymond, president of the Pleasant Valley Education Association, in an interview prior to the meeting. “We’re just looking for a fair, reasonable and competitive contract.”

Negotiations with the school board began in January and have continued on an almost monthly basis, Dymond said.

Acting Superintendent Charlene Brennan, who filled in after Superintendent Lee Lesisko retired in June, has not been involved in the negotiations. Dymond said some school districts include the superintendent in negotiations, while others do not.

“We haven’t made any progress. There doesn’t seem to be any urgency on the part of the school board,” he said.

If negotiations fail to yield a contract, striking is a possibility.

“We received overwhelming support from our members for a strike option,” Dymond said. “Striking is a last resort. That is not our number one goal.”

Working conditions, salary and benefits are their concern, but the teachers union also is concerned about the number of teachers and support staff being lost from the district’s schools. They are concerned that the district will not be able to attract well-qualified teachers and retain them or may not replace them at all.

In June 2020, the district furloughed 52 paraprofessionals, some of those who were asked to come back during the school year, but in March, furloughs were once again on the table. The district announced that as many as 47 teachers and administration could be let go due to budget concerns.

In June, the district stepped back from that option and accepted the resignation and retirement of 10 teachers in the waning weeks of the school year.

“The district’s finances are always going to be a sticking point for them,” Dymond said.

In a statement, Donna Yozwiak, president of the school board, said, “The district just within the last few hours received notice from the education association that there may be informational picketing by the education association at the upcoming board meeting. The district recognizes the right of the union to engage in this picketing so long as it does so in a peaceful and legal manner.”

She said negotiations have been ongoing for some time. A bargaining session is scheduled for Nov. 23 with the assistance of a state mediator.

“These are difficult times in which to bargain a new collective bargaining agreement, and the district remains committed to negotiating a contract that is fair for the professional employees, the students and the taxpayers of the community,” Yozwiak said.

The face of the school board will change in December as three newly elected people and school board Director Laura Jecker will be sworn in for the next term. Directors Len Peeters and Dan Wunder did not run for re-election and Yozwiak, who was not re-elected, are departing from the board.

During the meeting, members of the community spoke in favor of the teachers.

“I really do support our teachers having contracts,” said Amanda Andrews of Chestnuthill Township. “I think it’s really important. All of the other districts have contracts for their teachers and if I was going to teach, I would want to go somewhere where there’s a contract. I feel that if we want the best for our children, they need to have contracts. Security, it’s important. … As a community member and as a person who has a child in kindergarten, I want the best teachers. I want the best education. I want the best experience for my daughters.”