Charter school teachers to protest at board meeting

Teachers from the Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania Charter School in Baldwin Township plan to picket Thursday outside a school board meeting for what they said was a “lack of progress” over 18 months of contract negotiations.

The group of about 40 teachers represented by the Pennsylvania State Education Association said they will start to protest at 5:30 p.m. ahead of a scheduled 6 p.m. board meeting being held at the school.

“The school is not negotiating in good faith and has continually stonewalled the process by refusing to agree to many of the most basic contractual items,” Matt Edgell, PSEA region advocacy coordinator, said in a statement.

“Another issue that appears to be prolonging the negotiations is the fact that none of the school’s representatives at the bargaining table have any involvement in the day-to-day operations of the school. They don’t know what’s going on.”

Teachers, as well as parents of students enrolled at the school, also plan to speak to board members at the meeting.

“We value our teachers and staff as we value our students and their families,” the board said in a statement. “We are currently in negotiations, so we will respect that process by communicating directly at the negotiating table.”

The Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania Charter School is located at 600 Newport Drive and has an enrollment of 330 students, according to its website.