TOLEDO, Ohio — For the last 80 days, over 500 teachers, nurses and other staff members at Washington Local Schools have been working without a new contract.
"That's a real concern, I mean, we have to have a concern," said Jeff Christoffers, a spokesperson for the Teachers' Association of Washington Local Schools.
Christoffers is a fourth-grade teacher at Monac Elementary and says the impact of what he and hundreds of others do is the heartbeat of the district.
"We're there day in and day out, regardless of how many pencils we have in our pouches or how many computers we have working for us that day. We're the staple to this entire district," he said.
Over 100 staff members showed up for the district's board of education meeting Wednesday night to urge a resolution.
One of the biggest frustrations has been pay. Christoffers says the money coming in doesn't match the effort going out.
"We as a district are the lowest-paid district by contract in the entire area, but we work the second-most minutes in the entire area," Christoffers said.
The WLS district provided WTOL 11 with the following statement on contract negotiations:
"Washington Local Schools is looking forward to getting back together for negotiations next week, optimistic that we will settle a contract for our teachers. We will respect the process and speak further once negotiations are complete."
The teachers' association and district began negotiations back in March, according to Christoffers, and have had to enter mediation in order to strike a deal.
For the teachers, they are asking for better pay and student support.
"What we're trying to provide for the students is supplemental services, wrap-around services," said Jennifer Gent, the president of TAWLS. "Being able to truly give our kids everything that they should be afforded as a Washington Local student."
Gent, who teaches eighth-grade language arts at Washington Junior High, says despite the stalled negotiations, she's proud of the resilience of the people she represents.
"When I see my TAWLS members coming out the way they are coming out tonight, the way they've been coming out at other calls of action, in these past several weeks that we've started the year without a contract, this lets me know that it's not just a lone effort or a negotiation team's effort," Gent said.
The two sides are expected to talk again next Wednesday in hopes of finally putting the pen to paper.
"I am very hopeful," Gent said. "I'm always an optimist, and I always remain hopeful in whatever we are trying to accomplish on behalf of our members and the students that we serve."