Dead animals left near Peters picket line under investigation
Peters Township teachers walk a picket line.
A deer carcass with “PT” painted on it was found near a driveway of Peters Township High School where teachers have been picketing.
Carcasses have been found near where Peters Township School District teachers have been picketing.
PITTSBURGH – It appears more certain Peters Township School District teachers will remain on strike until Nov. 27.
The teachers and the district met again Wednesday in an attempt to hammer out an agreement that would put 4,300 students back in the classroom before Black Friday. But talks, called Tuesday afternoon by a state mediator, ended just 90 minutes after they started.
“The district continues to be obstinate,” said Paul Homer, a staff representative for Peters Local 3431 of the American Federation of Teachers. “There will be no meeting before the end of the strike.”
The work stoppage, which began Oct. 28, has sharply divided the community, which was evident at the Peters Township School Board meeting Monday night that was to be moved to the middle school auditorium to accommodate the crowd of more than 300 people, 200 of whom were teachers. Many parents wore red shirts saying they were willing to wait for a reasonable end to the strike. The teachers, meanwhile, had on blue shirts bearing their union logo and were adamant about wanting a fair and equitable contract.
The rancorous nature of the strike was also evidenced by a deer carcass spray-painted blue with the initials “PT” that was found late Monday on the sidewalk by the high school driveway, where the teachers are picketing. The incident marks the second time a dead animal was placed where teachers were picketing. In the early days of the strike, a dead squirrel in a plastic grocery bag was thrown at the teachers, Peters police said.
Chief Harry Fruecht said a custodian at the high school reported the incident shortly before midnight. The animal was placed at the site between 10 p.m. and 11:18 p.m., he said. There was no indication how the deer died. It was not properly tagged, which is a violation of state law, Fruecht said. The matter was turned over to the state Game Commission.
“We do have several leads,” Fruecht said of the latest incident.
Homer said it is a shame an animal was desecrated, “but we will not be intimidated.”
The major issues in the contract impasse are salaries and health care costs.
The district at the Tuesday negotiating session maintained its financial stance in light of pending legislation that would allow state school districts to raise taxes with a referendum vote by the public. It also asked the union to agree to have its 285 teachers return to class immediately and wait and see how the legislation, Senate Bill 909, is received.
“With over 75 percent of our revenues coming from local sources, Senate Bill 909 adds a new level of complexity to these negotiations,” Superintendent Jeannine French said in a statement. “While we greatly value our teachers, we are ever mindful of the impact of our financial decision on our taxpayers and we cannot agree to a contract that is beyond our means and jeopardizes the future of our district.”
Teachers must return to the classroom Nov. 27 to ensure students receive the minimum class days required by law.