Teachers fight for fair contract

GWINN–Teachers at Gwinn Area Community Schools say they have been negotiating for a “fair and equitable” contract and plan to bring it up at their next board meeting on Monday night.

Their contract expired July first. And negotiations for a new deal began in May. The Gwinn Education Association is hoping for a contract that lasts more than two years and keeps young teachers in the district, while rewarding veteran teachers that have been devoted to their students.

“We’ve proposed several really fair proposals to the negotiating team for the board and they have dismissed all of our proposals,” fifth grade teacher and president of the GEA Jessica Gustitis said. “We are just looking to get a fair proposal soon and hopefully wrap this up so that we can get back to what we do best, and that is teach.”

Gustitis added that even if a contract is not reached by the time school starts after Labor Day, teachers will still be there for their students. The GEA plans to hold a rally before Monday night’s school board meeting, which starts at six p.m.