Cleveland Metropolitan School District administrators and the teachers union intend to resume contract talks following rejection of a Fact Finder Report and the call for a strike vote.
At the urging of district CEO Eric Gordon the Cleveland school board has unanimously rejected the Fact Finder Report, and the teachers union wants its members to vote no as well.
Both sides say the report has some good points, but not enough to correct the outstanding issues of teacher seniority, evaluations, and the pay raise system. Cleveland Teachers Union President David Quolke expects members to vote it down by Friday. And he hopes contract talks will resume next week with a federal mediator.
If a new contract isn’t reached, Quolke says a walk-out is possible.
“Our contract still goes through June 30th of 2016 so if the membership gives us authority to call a strike that would not be until next school year. The idea is that, and our goal is certainly never to call a strike but to get a settlement,” says Quolke.
School CEO Gordon says he’s not trying to force or avoid a strike, he just wants to reach a fair deal for both sides.
