Ringgold, teachers “not there yet”
Ringgold teachers and district officials “are not there yet” on a deal to return students and teachers to classrooms, Ringgold Education Association President Maria Degnan said.
Negotiators met for roughly five hours Monday, more than three weeks into a strike by teachers who’ve been working without a contract since July 1.
“Some progress was made on both sides,” Degnan said. “We gave an offer and the district did counter.”
Ringgold Superintendent Karen Polkabla said the district and teachers union “made progress” during talks.
“Both sides are hopeful an agreement will be reached so students can return to the classroom,” Polkabla said in an emailed statement.
Neither she nor Degnan discussed a timeline on when the strike could end.
Ringgold’s 210 teachers walked off their jobs Oct. 18, with the district’s proposal to freeze them at their current salary steps for five years as a major barrier to a new five-year contract.
The union also rejected a fact-finder’s recommendation that would have taken their salaries from between $36,000 and $78,508 a year last term to between $41,439 and $83,947 a year by the end of the contract.
The teachers have been directed by the state to return to work Nov. 21 in order for the district’s nearly 3,000 students to receive the required 180 days of instruction by mid-June.
The school board’s monthly meeting scheduled for Wednesday night has been postponed to Monday, the day before the teachers must return to work.
More negotiations are planned for that day. Degnan said those involved “are continuing to talk” between now and then.