Teachers strike over, but effects could linger in the community
The Gahanna-jefferson teachers strike lasted less than a week, but the effects of the strike could be long lasting.
A teachers strike can be disruptive to relationships between the school community, teachers and administrators, said Melissa Conrath, senior lecturer in educational administration at Ohio State University and a retired Worthington City Schools superintendent.
“It creates challenges in the community,” Conrath said. “If a strike can get resolved, people can deal with the issues, get it resolved and get it back in good order – it won’t have a lasting effect. But sometimes when a strike goes on or it’s extremely contentious, it can affect the community, the school community, the parents, everybody. It can be long-lasting. It can be years before it gets resolved.”
The Gahanna-jefferson school board and the union representing striking teachers voted to ratify a new contract Sunday, ending a strike that spanned four school days.
Per the new contract agreement, students in preschool, elementary school and high school will begin hybrid learning on Monday, attending classes twice weekly and learning the other three days from home.
The controversial classroom cameras, a flashpoint in the dispute of the new contract, will be used less frequently than originally discussed. Students won’t be the focal point of live video broadcasts when they enter the classroom again. Those who are learning from home and watching videos won’t be able to broadcast videos or sounds into the classroom.
Teachers also will receive a 2.25% base pay raise.
“The (strike) issue lingers and it never totally goes away,” said John Conrath, who directs the superintendents’ licensure program at Ohio State University and is married to Melissa Conrath. He is also a retired Whitehall City Schools superintendent.
“It can emerge at any time and people will bring it up maybe for good reasons. Or maybe they might bring it up just to throw fuel on the fire to get things fired up again,” he said. “It’s not going to go away for a long time.”
The effects of the strike can also linger among teachers who didn’t see eyeto-eye on the decision to strike.
“It’s incumbent on all of them to say, ‘Let’s focus on what we share together,’ and that is the love for the district and the kids, and doing the best job possible and accepting those differences, but healing and moving forward,” Melissa Conrath said.
And in a year marked by polarizing events – COVID-19, nationwide protests over racial injustice and the presidential election – the teachers strike is just one more situation that could potentially cause division in the suburban city.
“Now we begin the process of healing as a community,” Gahanna Mayor Laurie Jadwin said in a statement. “Gahanna will continue to fight through what has been a historic year of relentless challenges. … We must focus more on what unites us than what can divide us.”
Many members of the community are hoping the strike doesn’t have lasting effects on Gahanna.
“There is some polarization just because there’s always going to be some sort of backlash to anything really, but I feel like the large majority of the community is standing behind the teachers and it’s a small community,” said Sam Killebrew, a 17-year-old senior at Gahanna Lincoln High School. “Everyone in the end knows there’s no point in fighting with their neighbors.”
Benjamin Dumek, father of two students at Blacklick Elementary School, said he is hoping Gahanna can put the strike in the “rearview mirror,” but is unsure if that will be possible.
“You want to move past it, but it will be tough to forget the stuff we went through,” Dumek, 36, said. “You want to put it behind you, but frankly, especially talking to neighbors and other friends in the community, I think it hurt a lot of people.”
Steve Barrett, superintendent of Gahanna-jefferson schools, said the district is “distinctly focused on rebuilding and healing” within the school community.
“We recognize that healing from the recent strike will take time,” Barrett said in a prepared statement. “These are emotional issues that were happening in the middle of a larger global crisis. But we know this: Gahanna-jefferson is resilient, and we can work together to heal.”
The Gahanna-jefferson Education Association did not respond to a request for comment.
Gahanna Lincoln student council president Jason Raymond said the strike was unifying, in a way.
“It was some of the best bonding teachers and students had ever had in this shared trauma,” Raymond said.
He was on the picket line last week supporting teachers, but is relieved the strike is over.
“That week already ripped a deep enough hole in our community,” Raymond said. “I couldn’t imagine how low morale would be and how far apart our community would be if that strike had lasted more than a week.”
Ohio Education Association president Scott Dimauro also said the strike could ultimately bring people together and help people find common ground supporting the students.
“Compared to the polarization that exists around everything else that’s happening, it might have actually been a good opportunity to bring together people who otherwise would have been divided on different issues,” he said.
Brothers Fresh and Mi Tradicion, two family-owned restaurants in Gahanna, started offering a 10% discount to teachers in any school district last week during the Gahanna teachers strike. The discount has been extended through the rest of the month.
“There’s so much divide in the world right now that we want to be able to come together at least as Gahanna,” said Carissa Newton, a co-owner of the restaurants. mhenry@dispatch.com @megankhenry