The battle between the South Butler School District and its teachers is over.
The teachers union voted on Wednesday to accept the contract put forth earlier this month by a three-member arbitration panel.
School board members voted to approve the contract last week.
It is an eight-year contract, retroactive back to 2014. This ends a labor dispute that has been ongoing for four years.
Following Wednesday’s vote by the 167 teachers who make up the South Butler School District Education Association, the association’s president issued a statement calling the moment ‘bittersweet.’
“While I am glad that we can move forward from this point with a strategy to effectuate a real change in this District, the new contract is not what we had hoped for, nor is it an accurate reflection of what the teachers should have earned in these last four years,” Babb said. “That being said, we feel our efforts will be better spent creating a new culture at the South Butler County School District that will start with attempting to build a relationship with the administration and recruiting pro-public education candidates to run for future School Board elections. We need community members who understand the value of the District’s largest asset, are willing to make decisions to appropriately support those who have dedicated their lives to the students, and help the community flourish with that investment.”
The teachers went on strike in March, which forced the school year to be extended. Friday is the last day of school and graduation day at Knoch.
