MIDDLEBURG – A teacher strike has been authorized in the Midd-West School District. After more than 670 days without a new contract, the majority of the 131 teachers that make up the Midd-West Education Association voted Monday to authorize a strike, if necessary. MWEA President Christopher Snyder said, “Despite our repeated efforts to schedule bargaining sessions, we haven’t met with the school board since July.”
He said, “They don’t respond to our requests to meet and negotiate.” The teacher contract expired in August 2014 and formal negotiations with the board began in January of 2014. Snyder added, “We have good intentions to work this out, but we have made very little progress.”
He said this is the longest that the MWEA and the school district have been without a contract in place in more than a decade. WKOK contacted school board president Victor Abate who says the district is unaware of any vote taken authorizing a strike. (Ali Stevens)