EAST PALESTINE — A teachers strike looms in East Palestine as negotiations between the East Palestine Education Association (EPEA) and the board have seemingly stalled, according to a press release issued by the teachers union on Tuesday.

The release said the teachers who make up the EPEA have already authorized their negotiating team to serve a 10-day strike notice, after the board “walked out” of Monday’s talks to renew the contract between the EPEA and the district that expired on June 30.

“That’s not a step we would take lightly at all,” EPEA spokesperson Carrie Cope said of the strike notice. “But our teachers, our students, and our community deserve better from the board, and we’re willing to fight for the best educational environment possible here.”

According to the press release, instead of reaching a resolution, tensions escalated this week when negotiations “came to an abrupt end,” claiming the board “walked out of the talks without any word to the union’s team.”

The press release said the board’s negotiation team left the meeting without confirming a new date, “raising concerns about their commitment to reaching a fair agreement,” and called the board’s proposal to hold the next negotiation session on Oct. 16 an indication of a lack of urgency in addressing the issues.

“They already had three weeks to look at our proposals. Why do they need another month?” asked Cope. “And without being given the financial information we’ve asked for multiple times, how can we reach an agreement?”

East Palestine City Schools challenged the EPEA’s series of events on Wednesday.

“Of the claims made by the EPEA, the singular truth was that the parties met on Monday night,” East Palestine Superintendent James Rook said. “The remainder of the press release is misinformation and mischaracterization.”

Rook, who said he learned of the union’s vote to issue a strike notice through the group’s press release, claimed Monday’s talks lasted several hours and the board agreed to meet with the EPEA’s financial analyst regarding his perspective on the district’s finances and to hold an additional informal meeting with the EPEA to further discuss the union’s proposal. He explained that since these meetings would likely have an impact on negotiations going forward, the federal mediator — which was appointed in July — and board’s team asked to meet on Oct. 16.

“This was the first date the federal mediator and board team were both available while giving both parties a chance to meet locally as discussed. Shortly thereafter, we were informed by the federal mediator that the EPEA had refused the date offered and was not willing to suggest any other dates,” Rook said. “We were then informed that the meeting was over, with no future bargaining sessions set. It was at that time that the board’s negotiating team left, albeit disappointed, since we believed progress still had to be made. It is an absolute falsehood that the board’s team walked out, without any word to the union’s team.”

The two sides also offered conflicting reports as to how public information requests were handled by the board.

The EPEA said that its bargaining team has repeatedly requested full financial transparency from the board. The union alleges that information has not been provided and charges that the board continues to hire additional administrative staff and increase administrative salaries without offering the negotiating team access to comprehensive financial reports, all of which, it said, are public records.

The board insists it has provided all of the information requested and was set to respond to the union’s most recent request, adding “the board’s team was surprised that the EPEA waited several months to make the request, since we assumed it would have been useful to them to understand the district’s finances at the start of negotiations.”

Rook maintains that despite what the EPEA called the BOE’s “preference for prolonging the negotiation process rather than reaching a fair deal,” the board wants nothing more than a resolution but that resolution cannot be detrimental to the students or other school employees.

“The board was willing to continue the discussion at a later date, despite already agreeing to several of EPEA’s bargaining demands. We were still willing to talk, despite the EPEA’s demand of substantial changes to the terms and conditions of their employment,” Rook said. “The EPEA’s proposal will take away instructional time from students and will greatly impact the employees who drive buses, cook lunches and perform other necessary services for students.”

The union said the parties reached an agreement on two minor issues and it is unclear what major issue is causing the breakdown in contract talks, but Cope said “teachers need dedicated time for training during the school day, adequate staffing to support struggling students, and necessary materials to enhance the learning experience” and that the EPEA is “fighting for an environment for teachers that encourages educators to stay in the district and a learning environment that is best for students.”

With little common ground gained through the talks, tensions heightening and a vote by the EPEA to issue a strike notice, Rook said plans are being made to prevent a stoppage in education and work.