Keystone Oaks cancels classes as teachers give strike notice

Teachers in the Keystone Oaks School District will go on strike starting Monday, prompting the district to cancel classes for all students, the district announced.

The district said the school board and the Keystone Oaks Education Association were unable to agree on a new contract in talks over the past week and this weekend.

“Our hope is that an agreement can be reached and students can return to classes as soon as possible,” a notice signed by Superintendent William Stropkaj said.

According to the district, under state law the work stoppage can last up to six days. Classes are expected to resume on Feb. 9 at the latest.

“We are disheartened that KOEA has made the decision to strike, despite the Board of School Directors making several fair, reasonable, and creative offers on a new contract,” school board President Theresa Lydon said. “The Board of School Directors understands the impact that this work stoppage will have on students and families in the Keystone Oaks School District. While getting our students back into the classroom is our top priority, we also must do what is responsible and sustainable financially.”

On Jan. 22, the teachers union announced it had given the district a notice of its intention to strike starting Monday if a tentative agreement was not reached before then. While state law requires a 48-hour notice, the union said it gave a nine-day notice “in hopes that fruitful negotiations will continue as often as possible, so a tentative agreement is reached before the deadline.”

The district and teachers union have been negotiating since January 2020. Teachers, nurses, counselors and mental health experts have been working without a new contract since the last agreement expired on June 30, 2020.

Members of the Keystone Oaks union voted in October to give their negotiators the authority to call a strike.

“Unfortunately, the Keystone Oaks Education Association could not come to an agreement with the district after negotiating two separate days last week both past 1 a.m. and also after a long afternoon today,” association President Kevin Gallagher, a high school computer science and statistics teacher, said Sunday. “We feel terrible about how all students will be affected by today’s decision, but our goal is to reach a compromise for their sake in the very near future.”

While classes are canceled, the district said:

• Practices and games for in-season sports will continue, but conditioning for out-of-season sports will not be held.

• Students who attend Parkway West Career & Technical School will continue to attend at their regular time, and transportation will continue to be provided.

• Transportation will continue to be provided for students with out-of-district placements and those attending private or parochial schools.

• The free meals program will continue, with curbside pickup between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at each building. Families are encouraged to order meals for multiple days and should reach out to the food service manager at their pickup site in advance to to pre-order meals.

Keystone Oaks serves Castle Shannon, Dormont and Green Tree.