BVA teachers protest lack of contract
By EMILY BENNETT DILULLO
ebennett@yourmvi.com
An estimated 150 teachers from the Belle Vernon Area School District wore red to protest stalled union negotiations at Monday’s school board meeting.
Wearing fiery red T-shirts emblazoned with the outline of Pennsylvania inside of an apple, along with “our students matter” wristbands, teachers from across the district filed into the lunch room, where they waited until the end of the meeting to speak on negotiations.
Daneen Watson, president of the Belle Vernon Area Education Association, said the nine-month negotiation period has exhausted teachers at a time when their focus needs to be on their students.
“BVAEA is becoming increasingly frustrated as these weeks continue to pass by,” Watson said in her address. “We don’t want to constantly have negotiations weighing on our minds while we go throughout our day. We want to be able to minimize any outside distractions and keep our focus on the most important people, which are our students.”
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