ROSS TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Ross Education Association (REA) said it reached a tentative agreement with the Ross Local Schools Board of Education after 10 months of negotiations.
We first told you about the stalled negotiations in November, when parents voiced their opinions at a board meeting, urging the school board to approve competitive teacher salaries.
On Monday, the Ross Education Association (REA) opened new office space to serve as the central hub of their strike efforts against the Ross Local School District if contract talks continued to stall and the union called for teachers to walk.
REA opened the strike headquarters on their 149 members' 99th day working without a contract.
Math teacher and REA Spokesperson Amy Brossart led a rally of supporting unions, teachers and parents to open the HQ just a few days after the union authorized a 10-day strike warning to the district.
"We're all hoping that we don't reach a strike," Brossart said at the opening. "Nobody wants to be here."
WATCH: We hear from teachers and parents about the threat of a strike in Ross Township
Brossart said a primary sticking point for the union in negotiations was a proposed pay schedule change that would benefit young teachers but be less lucrative for teachers in the middle of their careers.
We asked her what a strike would mean for her personally.
"My husband and I are both teachers. So, I'm looking at the strength, one, to do it," she said.
Brossart said teachers could lose insurance coverage and pay during a strike, but she believes the members would have been behind a walkout if talks didn't progress.
Andrea Meyer spoke at the HQ's opening, saying she represented a group of parents who backed the teacher's push for a new contract in order to retain good talent.
"These aren't just educators moving on. They are relationships, mentors and, more importantly, safe spaces for our children to depend on," Meyer said.
She said her son lost a teacher who built a safe space for him.
"We lost her, not because she wanted to leave but because she needed a district that valued her future," Meyer said.
We reached out to Ross Local School District Superintendent Bill Rice to get his take on the strike warning and HQ's opening Monday, and he responded with a written statement:
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for reaching out. We will be at the table this afternoon at 4pm, as we were twice last week, to continue the bargaining process.
I have no further comment.
