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YOUNGSTOWN -- A week of high tension and exchanging of settlement proposals concluded with no agreement between the Youngstown City School District and Youngstown Education Association.
Teachers have been on strike since Aug. 23, when the school year was set to begin. The strike will enter its fourth week.
After the YEA called off Thursday's talks to formulate its response to a district proposal submitted late Wednesday night, talks resumed Friday at 11 a.m. at East High School.
Negotiations ran well into Friday evening, as YEA negotiators reviewed the district's most recent proposal, but as of 8 p.m., no agreement had been reached.
"We are hopeful, as always, that we can have a fair, equitable contract for our community, our students, and our staff as soon as possible," YEA spokesman Jim Courim said.
Courim said it is unclear when talks will resume.
Last week, an agreement seemed possible, as both sides said they had made progress on the issue of teacher transfers and were still discussing raises. But relations seem to have devolved since then, and the union says the district is to blame.
Special education teacher Sharon King said that while the union's negotiators spent eight hours discussing the contract in the East High School library on Wednesday, the district's team met with them for 21 minutes.
King said the teachers are willing to make sacrifices at the negotiating table to get students back in school.
"But it's never enough for Mr. (Superintendent Jeremy) Batchelor and the board. They demand even more sacrifices from us every time we meet," she said.
As the strike drags on, city parents and even local state legislators have joined union leaders in criticizing Batchelor.
At 5 p.m. Thursday, the union presented district parents with an update on negotiations from YEA's perspective.
King said Batchelor lied to the public about removing contract language that has been at the heart of the union's protest.
The language was put into the contract during the state takeover of the district between 2012 and July 2022, and gave the CEO of the state-appointed Academic Distress Commission complete authority over personnel decisions.
The YEA says the board has been misinterpreting that language to give Batchelor the same authority, and said that section of the contract has been used to move teachers between buildings or into classes that don't suit them or the students.
King said, as an example, a math teacher was moved out of his class to teach social studies.
At Tuesday's Board of Education meeting, Batchelor said that section had been removed.
"That did not happen," King told parents on Thursday.
Kenneth Dickey, a district parent said "tyranny" is the word that best describes Batchelor, because he is using the contract language to hold teachers and students hostage.
State legislators this week echoed the frustrations of parents and the YEA, writing formal letters to the board, opposing Batchelor's leadership.
On Wednesday, State Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, sent a letter urging Batchelor to resign.
"Under his management, there has repeatedly been postponed meetings with Youngstown teachers' union representatives, and he has been reluctant to respond to their proposals," Rulli wrote. "My confidence in Superintendent Jeremy Bachelor's ability to lead the Youngstown School District has dwindled, and it is in the best interest of the Youngstown community for him to resign."
A day later, the board received a letter from state Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, urging the school board to reconsider the district's leadership, meaning Batchelor.
"Disappointingly and based off all publicly available information, current negotiations do not seem to be moving forward. The work needed to preserve our children's education will go beyond the conclusion of this stalemate. I ask this Board: Do you feel confident that the current leadership is best suited to work with all valuable stakeholders in ensuring a path forward for Youngstown's kids, and that this leadership will work both during negotiations and throughout the remainder of the academic year toward the best outcomes for Youngstown students? I have serious concerns with whether this is true."
The district has defended Batchelor with statements from the board as a whole and from board member Juanita Walker.
"The YCS Board received the letters, and we are not impressed with the support, or lack thereof, that we have received at the state level. Youngstown is currently fighting for our lives against those who have made it their mission to destroy this district," the board wrote.
"We are currently focusing on getting our scholars and teachers back in the classrooms -- that is our number one goal. So, to answer your question, at this time, we have no intention of firing Mr. Batchelor or asking for his resignation. The board has complete confidence in our leadership team, and Mr. Batchelor has our support 100%."
Walker said she stands behind her vote to hire Batchelor.
"He's a proponent of growth and achievement. His professionalism and understanding of what is needed to tackle the issues that arrive is critical in the climate we see now. Consistency, transparency, and productive leadership (which includes our teachers) are what the district wants and needs, and that's what we're trying to do."