Dennison, Ohio (WJER) - Claymont school officials are asking parents to make transportation arrangements for their students in the event of a strike next week. 

The school board met Thursday, agreeing to keep the district open and giving Superintendent Scott Golec oversight of daily operations if their non-teaching bargaining unit goes on strike as threatened next Friday morning. 

Reading from a press release, Golec says they will continue trying to negotiate an agreement with the union in the meantime.

“The Claymont City School District Board of Education adopted a resolution this Thursday night  to keep schools open in the event the district unionized non-teaching employees consisting of custodians, secretaries, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other members of the OAPSE bargaining unit, if they decide to go on strike at 12:01 am,” he says. 

OAPSE Field Representative Lynda Bolon says they felt they had no other option.

“We have been negotiating since May of 2017. We have several issues still left on the table we can’t get involved. They involve our cafeteria workers, our bus drivers, some overtime issues, of course, wages, insurance, those kinds of things. There’s been no resolution and we just came to a point where somebody had to take some action,” she says.

Golec says the district will continue operating in the event that the strike goes forward next week. He says they now have the ability to hire substitute employees and take other executive actions if that happens. 

“Schools will be open and ready to educate the district’s students on March 22nd and for each day if the OAPSE employees choose to go on strike,” he says. “The district administration has been preparing for the strike and has spoken to local law enforcement and other necessary agencies to make each day of the strike as smooth as possible.”

Golec says their federal mediator has called for a negotiation meeting Monday, where the board will be presenting another proposal to the OAPSE employees. Bolon says they are hoping to get things resolved so they call off the strike.

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