Peters parents react to strike
Jennifer Kelly is the mother of a first grader and a third grader who attend school in the Peters Township School District.
She is also a nurse.
And as a working mother of two young children, Kelly said she has had to have her mother, who lives in New Jersey, come and help her with the children since district teachers went on strike Oct. 28.
“I think it has gotten inconvenient for parents and the community,” Kelly said on Nov. 4, nearly a week after 285 teachers walked off their jobs after being unable to come to a contract agreement with the district. Unless an agreement is reached, they could remain on strike until Nov. 27. This, in turn, will force the district to use designated vacation days to make up the lost time. Around 4,300 students are affected by the strike.
Kelly said she is sympathetic to the teachers’ demands, despite the inconvenience the work stoppage has caused.
“They are not asking for anything new,” said Kelly, adding that the asked for salary increases and assistance with health care is “necessary to maintain” their standard of living.
“They don’t want things taken away,” said Kelly, who resides in Venetia.
Kristie Nowlan of McMurray, the mother of two young children who is also a teacher in the Chartiers Valley School District, said the strike is serving a purpose. Teachers have been without a contract since Aug. 31.
“They are fighting for what they deserve,” said Nowlan, who is on maternity leave from her teaching job.
McMurray resident Nicole Shadel is the mother of two teenagers, both of whom attend Peters Township High School. She said life has to continue during the strike.
“The kids want to know how things will work out school wise, like how the days missed will affect Keystone state tests,” Shadel said. “They still have to take the tests on the days marked, but will they have enough time to prepare for the tests? They want to know how they will learn all they should before the end of school. What happens now if they have a snow day? Will they have other school vacation days taken away? They are slightly stressed about what will happen and how things will work out.”
Kimi Forse of Venetia is the mother of a 16-year-old junior at the high school. She said she is frustrated the district and the teachers can’t come to an agreement despite meeting 17 times since January.
“I think they should meet every night,” Forse said. “They should have met at least three times already.”
The two sides are meeting Nov. 6 in downtown Pittsburgh in an attempt to end the work stoppage.