Westlake School Board Implements Contract, Teachers to Vote on Strike Option

by Michelle Faust

Teachers at Westlake City Schools will hold a strike vote Wednesday.

In a Monday night meeting, the Westlake Board of Education voted to implement the “last, best, and final” contract offer. The same contract that the Westlake Teachers Association voted to reject in May.

At the May 9 ^th board meeting, WTA President Patrick McMurrow presented a compromise to the board vowing to forgo the right to strike as long as the board continued to negotiate.

The school board issued a statement (read complete statement below) Monday saying that they had reached an impasse in negotiations and that the district cannot ultimately afford to raise teachers’ wages.

According to the WTA, stagnant wages and large class sizes are driving good teachers out of the district.