Nov 21, 2017 2 min read

The chief negotiator for Ringgold School District in stalled contract talks that led to a teacher strike may have to step aside after losing the election earlier this month for an at-large seat on the board.

President William Stein Jr.’s future on the board depends upon another director who won two seats on the board and whether he decides to shun an at-large seat over the one he won in the region representing Donora and parts of Carroll Township. Stein also would need to be appointed to the vacant seat by a majority vote of the board when it meets in December.

Director Larry Mauro had yet to inform the board Monday about which seat he will accept, and Stein has indicated that he wants to be appointed to the vacant at-large seat and continue with negotiations.

“I’ve expressed my interest in it to see this through,” Stein said Tuesday. “I would like to close out and get these people a new contract. It’s out of my control.”

Stein said he believes that Mauro is under pressure from the teachers union and its supporters to take the at-large seat on the board and force Stein out of negotiations.

Mauro said he will make his decision on which seat to take after he receives the certified election results.

“I have not made up my mind,” Mauro said Wednesday.

Mauro must wait until the canvass board certifies the election before notifying the Washington County elections office of his decision, said Larry Spahr, the office’s director. The canvass board began posting the official election results Tuesday afternoon, he said.

Mauro also won re-election for the Region I seat. If he selects the at-large seat, the board would have to appoint someone from Region I to the vacant seat, Spahr said. Stein does not live in Region I.

Classes resumed Tuesday in Ringgold after the 22-day teacher strike came to an end under a state mandate that requires that students receive 180 days of instruction by mid-June. A second strike is on the table if nonbinding arbitration fails to reach a new five-year contract with the district’s 210 teachers.

Ringgold Education Association President Maria Degnan said the teachers will not let the strained negotiations affect their classroom performance.

“Teaching is what we do,” Degnan said. “We’re going to be teaching. We’re professionals.”