Amherst Schools teachers file unfair labor practice complaint against Board of Education

The Amherst Teachers Association announced Oct. 4 it has filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the State Employment Relations Board alleging that the Amherst Exempted Village Schools Board of Education engaged in bargaining in the public and direct dealing with union members during the Sept. 25 Board of Education meeting.

“On Sept. 25, members of the ATA (Amherst Teachers Association) attended the school board meeting, which included a statement made by Powers Elementary School teacher, Mrs. (Courtney) Rua, during the public participating meeting,” said Emily Marty, spokesperson for the Amherst Teachers Association, union member and educator. “(Amherst Teachers Association) members brought nonperishable items to symbolize the amount of additional time spent by educators, beyond their paid, contractual day, during a two-week period.”

The Board was able to gather 642 pounds of food which was displayed during the meeting before being donated by the Amherst Teachers Association to Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio.

“Each can represents 10 hours of time these teachers have spent outside the classroom preparing lessons, grading homework and more,” said Rua in her statement. “During a normal school day, we receive a certain amount of time each day that is spent making phone calls and managing other occurrences.

“What is not finished, then comes home with us to continue to be worked on, on our time.”

The Amherst Teachers Association knows that the additional hours are mandatory and that they do them gladly for their students, Rua said.

Also during the meeting, discussion of the ongoing issues was openly talked about, something the Amherst Teachers Association said it felt is breaking the bargaining agreement.

“The ATA believes the actions of the Board during the Sept. 25, 2023, Board of Education Meeting violates Ohio Revised Code Sections 4117(A)(5) and serves as another examples of the Board’s resistance to commit to settling a fair contract deal,” Marty said. “The ATA is disappointed that the spirit of good faith negotiations has been tainted by the actions of the Board of Education president.”

During the meeting, Board of Education President Rex Engle replied to the teachers’ show of support.

“We take all that has been happening in the past two weeks, into consideration,” Engle said. “But, we must also take into consideration that we only have an ‘X’ amount of dollars that we can spend on general funding.”

Engle also stated during the meeting that the average salary for Amherst teachers is the second highest on the pay scale in Lorain County.

He also said the Board of Education wants to reach a negotiation with the Amherst Teachers Association.

“Despite the Board’s actions of openly discussing bargaining details, the ATA will remain committed to get back to the table on Oct. 10 and reach an agreement that will continue to attract and retain caring, committed and highly qualified educators who support and transform student learning inside and outside the classroom,” Marty said.

The Board of Education declined to comment at this time.

The Amherst Teachers Association will hold a rally from 5-7 p.m., Oct. 10, at Marion L. Steele High School, 450 Washington St., the same time as the board meeting.

The rally will feature music, food and games.

Amherst Teachers Association members are expected to show up donning their orange shirts and buttons stating, “I don’t want a strike, but I will is I must.”

The Amherst Teachers Association’s contract expired in June 2022 and the subsequent rollover agreement in June 2023.