A source familiar with the ongoing negotiations between the Youngstown City School District and the Youngstown Education Association shared with 21 News some of the briefing points from Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor to the Board of Education Tuesday.

The information provides an insight into where negotiations stand between the district and the striking teachers and staff. The YEA presented to the district a settlement agreement Monday but the Board offered a counter proposal on Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday's counterproposal left YEA members frustrated after Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor said the YEA negotiating committee would be presented with the offer Wednesday at 12:30 but the union didn't receive anything from the district until 3:30, with slim content to work with.

"We gave a proposal to them and they made a counteroffer on part of that proposal today," Courim explained. 

According to the source, the striking points discussed included the district agreeing to cut all memorandum of understanding (MOUs are multilateral agreements), some management rights and some contract language.

In exchange for agreeing to the changes, the district asked that the YEA end the strike, and to have only what are described as 'key classes' not subject to the seniority preference.

A sticking point for teachers is certain contract language that the union has stated is too vague and gives the board unlimited power. This certain language is what has delayed the contract negotiations for so long, which are now in their fourth week.

The school board has said it's not so easy to take out certain academic distress commission language that the union says is able to be removed.

"While they can propose it, it's not completely gone until both sides come to a tentative agreement and it is ratified by both sides," Courim expalined. 

According to information supplied to 21 News, the district is seeking 13 to 15 'key classes' that would allow the district to place the most qualified teacher in the position, rather than follow seniority as the determining factor.

The key classes that are on the district's list asking for the most qualified teacher to be chosen over seniority include Tier II intervention classes for English language arts, math, middle and high school STEM electives, and elementary technology. Tier II classification is for students struggling with core curriculum classes. Also on the list are elementary technology, Title I teaching, 8th grade math, and Algebra I.

A document viewed by 21 News alleged that Batchelor said an 'open issue' was that the YEA allegedly changed its "major issue" to another,  stating "the union now wants us to rewrite the transfers, vacancy and assignment language," that was in effect before HB 70 and the Academic Distress Commission.

However, YEA legal council Jeff Geisinger said that some statements in the obtained document as what he described as an "involuntary omission"  of the facts concerning the district's current ability to move teachers to other positions, in other school buildings.

Geisinger said that the current language in the contract allows the district to ignore seniority entirely, and that is why the teachers are fighting to change the clause.

Geisinger said that what he alleges is not fully explained to the board was the voluntary movement of teaching staff in comparison to the involuntary relocations.

Items that are agreed on include full reimbursement to the YEA members for "strike pay." However, for agreeing to that term, the district is asking to modify contract language for future negotiations, including a fact-finding mandate before striking.

The district is also agreeing to reimbursement for preschool tuition during the strike.

"We're going at a tortoise pace," Courim elaborated. "Most of our teachers would love to go at the pace of a hare but, most things take time and that's just where we're at."

The 4,000+ students in the YCSD have now missed 3 weeks of in-person schooling. The first day was slated for August 23 and they have been doing remote work since August 25. 

The district and the YEA are set to return to the bargaining table Thursday at 12:30 p.m. with a team members meeting planned for 10:30 a.m. after no agreement was reached on Wednesday.