Negotiations between the East Palestine Education Association and the Board of Education have been put on hold after the union says the Board's negotiation team "walked out of" negotiations.

According to a press release from the union, after five hours of working with a federal mediator, negotiations between the union and Board came to an abrupt end when the Board's negotiation team "walked out of" talks without any word to the union's team.

"We are extremely disappointed with the outcome of today's negotiations. After waiting three weeks for the Board to present a counteroffer, it is disheartening to see that there has been minimal progress on the major issues under negotiation," said union spokesperson Carrie Cope.

Cope says the two parties were able to reach agreements on two minor points, but says the board refused to offer any new proposals for critical matters at hand and "just ended up walking out."

Additionally, the union is accusing the Board of not being transparent stating in the release that the Board continues to hire additional administrative staff and increase administrative salaries without offering the negotiating team access to comprehensive financial reports, which are public records.

According to the release, the Board proposed to hold the next negotiation session on October 16, which is a month away. The union says this shows a lack of urgency in addressing the issues.

"They already had three weeks to look at our proposals. Why do they need another month? And without being given the financial information we've asked for multiple times, how can we reach an agreement," Cope said.

The teachers who make up the union have already authorized the negotiating team to serve a 10-day strike notice.

"That's not a step we would take lightly at all, but our teachers, our students and our community deserve better from the Board and we're willing to fight for the best educational environment possible here," Cope said.

East Palestine Superintendent James Rook responded to the union's comments Wednesday afternoon calling them "misinformation and mischaracterization" and said the allegations that the Board "walked out" of negotiations is an "absolute falsehood."

"The Board was willing to continue the discussion at a later date despite already agreeing to several of EPEA's demand of substantial changes to the terms and conditions of their employment. The EPEA's proposal will take away instructional time from students and will greatly impact the employees who drive buses, cook lunches and perform other necessary services for our students," Rook said.

Rook says the board and union met for several hours where they fully discussed the union's proposals and that the Board agreed to meet with the union's financial analyst for his perspective on the district's finances.

Rook went on to say the Board agreed to hold an additional informal meeting with the union to discuss its proposal conceding that the date given for the next meeting was October 16 because this was the earliest date the Federal mediator and Board team were both available.

"Shortly thereafter, we were informed by the Federal Mediator that the EPEA had refused the date offered and was not willing to suggest any other dates. We were then informed that the meeting was over with no future bargaining sessions set," Rook said.

Rook says the Board has learned of the union's strike notice from the press release and media reports about it and has now engaged in discussions and made comprehensive plans to make sure education continues for students if the strike happens.