Gahanna-Jefferson teachers vote to authorize 10-day strike notice
GAHANNA, Ohio (WCMH) — Gahanna-Jefferson Education Association school teachers overwhelmingly voted Thursday to authorize their bargaining team to send the district a 10-day “notice of intent to strike and picket.”
On Sept. 21, hundreds of Gahanna-Jefferson School District staff members protested against the district’s proposed hybrid learning model.
A return to in-person learning is scheduled on October 13.
The vote tonight is a vote of confidence in our bargaining team and our fight for the schools Gahanna-Jefferson students deserve. Of course we don’t want to strike, but our students, teachers and community deserve a contract that keeps our kids safe, provides them with equitable learning conditions, and sets them up for success.
The District talks about ‘protecting existing schedules,’ but at what cost? The teachers are concerned with protecting our students. The GJEA supports the use of our teachers instead of a third-party education provider for our distance students, but we don’t believe that the District’s current plan will allow students to feel emotionally safe while learning. Based on events that have already occurred this year, we believe that student information will be compromised by unnecessary, unmanageable, and unreliable technology.
Students should be provided the opportunity to engage in ‘deep learning’ regardless of the educational model they choose. Distance learners should not be an afterthought. A camera in the back of an in-person classroom does not allow for the high-quality instruction or engagement they deserve. We’re worried about our in-person learners, too. Students should have their teacher’s full attention during instruction, which is simply unrealistic when a teacher is trying to interact simultaneously with students virtually and in-person.
Betsy Baker, Gahanna-Jefferson Education Association spokesperson
Bobby Swartzentruber, Gahanna-Jefferson Education Association bargain negotiator, spoke with NBC4 last week.
"We really have some serious concerns,” Swartzentruber said. “Our teachers know our students best and they have the interest of the students and their families. That’s why we’re teachers.”
Swartzentruber told NBC4 two weeks ago that they haven’t had any direct answers about PPE accessibility and how classrooms will be sanitized. He says another concern is an equity problem. The teachers want to make sure all students have the same access to quality education no matter where they are.
Superintendent Steve Barrett released a statement about the teachers concerns and the new hybrid model.
“We recognize that the adjustments that must be made by our teaching teams are not easy, and we firmly believe we have respectfully addressed a number of their concerns and are committed to continuing the conversation,” Barrett said in a statement.