Nov 3, 2017 By Mark Soroka for The 3 min read

NEW EAGLE — Despite two rounds of negotiations on Thursday, the Ringgold Education Association (REA) and the Ringgold School District failed to come to an agreement to end the 12-day teachers strike.

The two sides were encouraged by progress during Wednesday’s negotiating session, and they were hopeful students could return to school by Friday. But two sessions Thursday yielded no agreement.

The next negotiating session is scheduled for Nov. 8. If a settlement is not reached by Nov. 21, teachers will be required to return to the classroom, per a return-to-work order issued by the state Department of Education.

REA President Maria Degnan contends that the district presented the union with an offer that devalued Ringgold’s teachers and added steps to the salary schedule.

“We have come down in our proposal and feel that what we are asking for is more than reasonable,” she said.

“The district can no longer balance the budget on the backs of the teachers. We can’t allow that to happen.”

On its Facebook page, REA stated that over 75 percent of Ringgold teachers are paid less than $50,000 and more than 75 percent of Ringgold teachers earn less than teachers with under three years of experience in neighboring districts. REA also maintains that Ringgold teachers have agreed to significant concessions over the past 10 years, including stagnant or frozen salaries and additional days of work for no additional pay.

According to Ringgold Superintendent Karen Polkabla, the gap between the monetary expectations of the Ringgold Education Association and what the district can legally raise in taxes was too large to close.

“The district will continue to work toward an agreement that gets the teachers and students back into the classroom, is affordable to the taxpayer and allows the district to operate without cutting programs and staff,” she said.

School Board President William Stein Jr. said there are still many stumbling blocks to overcome before an agreement can be reached.

“We are all trying hard to get there but these issues are complicated by many issues, not the least of which is contracts negotiated in the late 1990s that got the starting salaries so low in the first place,” he said. “Additionally, there is a huge jump step in the pay scale the will cause the district immense financial problems during this contract and bigger ones in the future if it is not addressed. All that being said, all of us, on both sides, are trying really hard to get this done.”

Due to the strike, students will not be able to take their SAT exams at Ringgold High School on Nov. 4.

The Educational Testing Service said that “all students will be notified of the new testing location once completed.”

Ringgold’s next school board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 15.