How will the Columbus teacher strike end?

Amelia Robinson, The Columbus Dispatch
·3 min read
August 22, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Education Association members picketed at the district's Southland Center during an emergency meeting of the Board of Education on Monday evening.The Columbus Education Association announced Sunday night that more than 94% of members voted to reject the Columbus City school board's final contract offer. Classes were scheduled to start Wednesday. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch

All of Columbus City Schools students are expected to miss the first day of in-person school Wednesday, Aug. 24.

That's because their teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors and psychologists voted to strike Sunday with fellow members of the Columbus Education Association.

The vote came after contract negotiations with a team of lawyers representing the Columbus City Schools Board of Education went down in flames.

Students will be instructed virtually.

It is the district's first strike since 1975. In a piece published Monday, our editorial board urged both parties to resume bargaining and come up with solutions swiftly.

Our View | Columbus School Strike:School board, union get 'F' for failing students in contract negotiation

In a passionate piece published today, teacher Kimberly Webber explains the reasons for the strike:

She writes: "We are not difficult, but we will be unyielding. Because we believe in our kids - and our schools. We believe our kids deserve so much better. I want so much to be able to start my 21st year as I have started the last 20, but that can’t happen without the change our district so desperately needs and deserves."

Read Kimberly Webber's full column: Columbus teacher: 'We cannot be silent... we know that our students are not OK'

Brian Zagrocki, a Columbus attorney, says the union and the school board should go public with new offers and compromise.

He writes: "Going public will force both sides to make concessions or explain the absence thereof, a threat which, given the high profile of the strike and its potential impacts, carries grave consequences in the court of public opinion for parties unwilling to compromise.

And beyond public opinion, both parties are accountable through referendum — the board through elections and the CEA through member voting. "

Read Brian Zagrocki whole full here:Union, school board should make case for raises, building upgrades to taxpayers| Opinion

COLUMBUS CONVERSATION ON OVERDOSE CRISIS

The opioid crisis has claimed far too many lives.

Solutions for individuals, family members and the community as a whole will be discussed during Dispatch presents Columbus Conversations: "What is the state of the opioid crisis in our community?" 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31.

The free event on International Overdose Awareness Day will be held at the Fawcett Center on The Ohio State Campus Conference Theater, 2400 Olentangy River Road.

It will be the first in-person event in the Columbus Dispatch's Columbus Conversation series.

I will host the discussion which will also stream live on Dispatch.com and on the Dispatch's Facebook page and YouTube channel. It will be available to view on those platforms following the event as well.

Panelists are:

∎ Erika Clark Jones, CEO, ADAMH Franklin County∎ Dr. Krisanna Deppen, program director, OhioHealth Grant Addiction Medicine Fellowship∎ Brian Pierson, vice president, Community Health and Well-being, Mount Carmel Health System∎ Dr. Erin McKnight, medical director, Medication Assisted Treatment for Addiction Program, Nationwide Children's Hospital∎ Matt Parrish, captain, Columbus Division of Fire∎ Dr. Emily Kauffman, emergency medicine physician, OSU Wexner Medical Center East∎ Juliet Dorris-Williams, executive director, The P.E.E.R. Center∎ Andrea Boxill, administrator, Alcohol and Drug Services, Columbus Public Health

Have questions for the panelists?

Email them to Amelia Robinson at Arobinson@Dispatch.com. 

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

Let me know your thoughts on the topics mentioned above or any others in a letter to the editor of 200 words or less emailed to Letters@Dispatch.com.

Include your name, address and daytime phone number. The address and number are needed for verification and won't be published.

If someone sent you this email, make sure you subscribe to this newsletter to never miss the Conversation. 

More: How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

And while I am at it, join the Columbus Dispatch Conversation Facebook group.

It is a place to share in meaningful discussions.

Please consider subscribing to this newsletter if you are not already.

Thanks for reading,

Amelia  

Email: arobinson2@dispatch.com

Twitter: @1AmeliaRobinson

Facebook: Amelia Robinson 

Columbus Dispatch editorial page editor and community engagement editor Amelia Robinson outside the 62 E. Broad St. newsroom on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
Columbus Dispatch editorial page editor and community engagement editor Amelia Robinson outside the 62 E. Broad St. newsroom on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How will the Columbus teacher strike end?