Carbondale Reporter

Illinois Education Association Carterville Region recently issued the following announcement.

 In an effort to give parents as much notice as possible, the Geneva Education Association (GEA) revealed today the GEA will not go on strike before Thanksgiving break. Legally, the teachers could go on strike at any time. No tentative agreement was reached during today’s bargaining session between the GEA and the District 304 Board of Education.

“We know parents will need as much time as possible to make arrangements for their students if we do go on strike,” said GEA President Kevin Gannon. “That said, we are still hopeful we can reach a fair agreement with the school board and avoid a strike altogether. The last thing any of our teachers want is to be out of the classroom and on the picket line.”

The GEA represents 459 teachers in District 304’s nine schools and serves the district’s 5,800 students. The GEA and Geneva School District 304 have been in negotiations since February 2018. GEA teachers have been working without a contract since Aug. 15, 2018. In September, GEA members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

GEA’s next mediation session with the district is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. Thanksgiving Break for District 304 is from Nov. 21-23. However, because of parent-teacher conferences, students will not be in school on Nov. 19-20 either.

Original source can be found here.