NEWTON FALLS SCHOOLS Negotiators schedule more contract talks

By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NEWTON FALLS -- Both sides of a contract dispute hope continuing talks will soon lead to a settlement.
Negotiators for the Newton Falls Association of Classified Employees and the board of education met Thursday evening, the first bargaining session since Oct. 2.
Superintendent Linda Clapp said no settlement was agreed upon at the meeting, but more talks are scheduled for Wednesday.
"That, in itself, is promising," she said.
Clapp added the union did not file an intent-to-strike notice, though NFACE members authorized the negotiating team to do so if it sees fit.
The authorization to strike was granted earlier this week, according to union officials.
"Our members have reached their limit of patience," said Terri Pigg, a union representative.
A strike would not take place until notice of intent is filed with the state school board and the State Employment Relations Board.
Clapp said school officials would not speculate on how a strike might affect the district.
"We are going to meet and hopefully things will work out," she said.
Contract expired
The contract with 52 classified employees, including custodians, bus drivers, secretaries, mechanics and aides, expired June 30.
Employees returned to work at the beginning of the school year, agreeing to work under the old agreement until a settlement was reached.
Bill Hart, a communications consultant with the Ohio Education Association, parent union to the ACE, said seven bargaining sessions took place in August, but an impasse was declared in September.
A commissioner from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service was called in to mediate negotiations. The mediator presided over the Oct. 2 meeting and the one Thursday night.
According to information from the OEA, the sides are split on a number of issues, but the union "does not intend to discuss the issues in public because state law mandates that bargaining should be done in private."
slshaulis@vindy.com