GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) – There were cheers and jeers at the South Western City Schools Board of Education meeting Monday night, but before that, they marched.
Most of the over-crowded room wore red to support the South Western Education Association (SWEA) as they gathered in the Central Crossing High School parking lot and marched to the meeting next door.
It’s a contract year for district teachers, and they made sure the school board knew about it.
“A lot of posts about teachers and blaming them for every little thing, from actions of the community group to actions of the board to, I mean, literally everything student behavior, everything gets put on the teachers. And that has bothered me since I was a student, because those teachers saved my life. They literally saved my life. And I just it breaks my heart to hear them scapegoated when they’re the best of us,” explained Katie Stuckey, a former SWCSD student and now parent.
“They’re the ones that are there every day, drying tears and cleaning up vomit and doing the hard work, and running a school district while trying to teach all at the same time. They are saints,” she added. Stuckey stood in front of the school board and a room spilling out the doors with hundreds of teachers to express her support for the teachers’ union and the teachers.
After all, she said, “If we don’t have great teachers, we don’t have a great district. We don’t have successful students.”
There has been a divide between the school board and teachers’ union, and it seems to be widening as of late.
“I do know there seems to be some pushback. And that is why we’re here today. So our board knows that we are strong as a union, and we are fighting, for things in our contract that are going to support our students because they deserve that,” said Emmalee Harding, spokesperson for the SWEA and 7th grade language arts teacher.
The teacher’s contract expires on June 30, 2025. That expiration date does not necessarily signify a deadline, however. District spokesperson Evan Debo said the only ‘real’ deadline would be the first day of school in the fall, so they’ll continue to work on an agreement throughout the summer.
The union is demanding more from the board, in the form of “Retaining and keeping the best teachers for our district. That means a destination district for them that they want to stay. Because our students deserve strong and educated teachers. We also want smaller class sizes. We know that it is better when there’s fewer students in a classroom for our students,” said Harding.
Another source of division between the board and teachers is the recent decision to join several professional development organizations, including two that share more controversially conservative positions on education.
“As a school board member. It is not a political position. You should not be, you shouldn’t be taking, you know, a Democratic tie to, or, a Republican side,” commented Harding prior to the meeting. Many of the speakers and supporters in the crowd cheered when certain board members were referenced as aligning with these groups. Some parents have even threatened to leave the district over it.
As a parent of a 5-year-old, Stuckey has seen the good that can be done with good teachers in the classroom, and hopes the board will come to the same conclusion. “I feel like we’re supposed to be all on the same team here. It’s public education. We’re all for public education, I hope. The key to having a successful school district is having great teachers. And retaining great teachers means that we have to support and pay great teachers,” she explained.
Executive Director of Communications, Evan Debo, said this on behalf of the school district:
“SWCS values transparency and open communication as cornerstones of public relations efforts. At the same time, we recognize that certain processes—such as labor negotiations with all three unions in the district—requires a level of confidentiality to ensure fairness, protect the integrity of the discussions between parties, and support productive outcomes for all stakeholders involved. SWCS is resolved to continuing our productive discussions with all union representatives to yield mutually beneficial outcomes for staff and students this summer in future contracts.”
As for a contract by the time school starts, Harding said, “I think we’re hopeful for an agreement in sight, but at this time, I’m not sure I can speak on that.”
