Teachers union invokes holiday

By: Stephanie Prokop
   CHESTERFIELD — There’s no school on Monday because the teachers union, whose contract expired in June, has told the school district its members would not be there.
   The Chesterfield Township Education Association notified the district last week that teachers were going to invoke their legal right to take off for Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
   Chief School Administrator Constance Bauer said Wednesday she was not sure why the school was not given more notice, noting the school calendar was set last spring and the last-minute change would inconvenience parents.
   Union officials could not be reached for comment before the Register-News’ Wednesday dead- line.
   Dr. Bauer noted the district does have to make up the day that the teachers are taking off on Monday, so the school schedule for the following weekend is going to be shifted around.
   Originally, students were to have a half-day of school on Thursday, Feb. 15, and no school on both Friday, Feb. 16 and on Monday, Feb. 19. Instead, the new schedule will include a full day of school on Thursday and a half-day of school on Friday, with an in-service afternoon for teachers. School will still be closed on Feb. 19.
   Parents were notified of the changes by letter. Parents who had already made vacation plans for Friday, before the school calendar changed, can notify Dr. Bauer directly and their children will not be penalized with an unexcused absence.
   "Families couldn’t have expected for this to happen," she said of the amended schedule.
   Donna Zalepa, a parent, said that she felt the district’s letter downplayed the seriousness of the stalled contracts and made it appear to be a simple scheduling change.
   "A lot of parents are frustrated because they don’t have enough information to move forward," she said.
   The teachers union and the school board have been in contract negotiations since last summer when their old contract expired.
   The process is currently in the fact-finding stage. The next meeting with the fact-finder is scheduled for Feb. 21 at the board meeting at 7:30 p.m..
   
Managing Editor Vanessa Holt contributed to this report.