Students, parents air views on strike
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YOUNGSTOWN -- On what was to be his first day of the school year Wednesday, Youngstown Rayen Early College senior Aiden Straine woke up and contributed to a labor strike in support of his teachers.
The soon-to-be graduate said he feels uneasy about the school year due to the possibility of losing close student-teacher relationships. Straine said he doesn't have the option to move to a different district.
"If the strike continues, getting out of this district isn't really feasible for me, or for many other students," he said.
Straine, 18, stood as a young picket with his teachers and brought them water and chips throughout their morning protests.
He said a lot of his fellow classmates who couldn't participate due to their age chose to create their own way of protesting. They are not completing remote work the district assigned. It's because the work is not being administered by their teachers, and instead left unmonitored, or instructed by "fill-in" substitutes, Straine said.
Teachers walked the picket lines Wednesday morning, when students in the Youngstown City School District originally were scheduled to begin the school year.
The Youngstown Education Association union voted to strike Monday. Classes have been pushed back to remote learning beginning Friday.
Other YCSD students and parents say they are worried about the strike. A seeming lack of urgency is why Doug Fuller, parenting a kindergartener and second-grader, is upset.
"I've got four children, one was supposed to start kindergarten today, and we knew what the situation was," Fuller said. "But yesterday and today, I've gotten zero notifications on the progress of the strike. At 6 a.m., I had a 5-year-old and 6-year-old crying that they wanted to go to school. It's hard to explain a teachers strike to kids."
Fuller also said he and his co-parent had to miss work Wednesday because of the strike.
"I don't know anything about remote learning; our kids weren't in school yet during COVID," Fuller said. "But I think the more parents opt in to this remote learning situation, the longer the dispute will be. They gave us information about picking things up throughout the day, but we did not grab Chromebooks."
"My son has a learning disability, it's hard enough, but now you add in that he has to try to sit still at home and learn. I am understanding of the teachers' needs, but they had all summer to figure this out, and now our children are suffering because of a lack of communication."
For Fuller's two children, Angielimar and Tyler, he said ultimately he is worried that if the strike is settled, teachers may remain unhappy with the outcome and lose focus in providing the best education for the students.
Youngstown Councilwoman Basia Adamczak, D-7th Ward and chairwoman of council's education committee, has two daughters, Alys and Ania, who both attend Rayen Early College. She said the ordeal has been "a bit of a challenge," and mentioned getting some additional information about the negotiations, after attending the board of education meeting Tuesday.
"I just want to at least encourage both parties to discuss for resolution," Adamczak said. "It seems like people are using a play on words instead of being straightforward. I attended the meeting yesterday because I am a parent, chairwoman and resident, and I wanted to know, what exactly is the strike regarding?"
"In my unbiased opinion, from only bits and pieces, it all centers around House Bill 70. The teachers are speaking more about senior rates."
Senior rates, as explained by educators, deal with allowing those who have years of seniority in the district to refrain from being moved around throughout grade levels and schools to accommodate for specific subjects.
The moving around, Adamczak said, is "not fair and not really helpful to the students."
Another issue she said is important is whether the Academic Distress Commission, in charge during the schools' tenure under state control, still exists since the demise of House Bill 70. During the meeting, one board member said it does, but soon after, another member said the opposite, Adamczak said.
Further, the board of education has spoken about the teachers wanting more money. School district spokeswoman Stacy Quinones said the union's wage request was more than 2.5 times what the district budgeted, but the union since filed an unfair labor practice suit against the board for speaking about the negotiations.
Outside of Chaney Middle School's cafeteria, a group of parents -- Jennifer Merchant, Deanna Cobb, and Semaj Johnson -- stood in line about 10:15 a.m. to pick up breakfast for their at-home learners. All three said the strike put a wrench into their prior arrangements, and if the strike persists, they would consider looking at other options for their children's education.
"Kids shouldn't be at home on the Chromebook; summer is over," Cobb said.
Mindy Foor, guardian of a sixth-grader at East Middle School, said she had to call off from work, and her day did not go as planned. "I would side with the teachers, because I want the teachers to have better working conditions for the students to get a better education," Foor said.
"This is my last one, all of my other kids are grown," Les Howard, father of an eighth-grader at East, said. "You all (board members) need to give these teachers what they want. Quit playing around with these teachers, they're out here taking care of our kids, and they need to get paid. Summer is over, and I'm ready for the kids to get out of the house."