Bellefonte Teachers and Staff Union Still Headed Toward Strike After Latest Round of Negotiations

Updated 3:30 p.m. Oct. 6

Bellefonte Area School District officials and the union representing 230 teachers and staff concluded their latest round of negotiations on Monday without a new contract agreement, a week before a strike is scheduled to begin.

“Despite attempts to make progress toward an agreement, no agreements were reached,” the Bellefonte Area Education Association wrote on Monday night. “The district continues to refuse t offer sufficient investment in competitive salaries despite numerous attempts to address district concerns. They indicated they need to do additional research on many key items despite over 12 months of negotiations.”

District officials asked the BAEA to postpone its strike date, but it remains in effect for Monday, Oct. 12, if a deal is not reached, according to the union.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, and if the parties do not reach an agreement then, the union says the strike will proceed.

“We believed that an agreement must be reached on that date and that the district must come prepared to make serious movement toward an agreement,” the BAEA wrote. “Our community needs clarity on the path ahead earlier than Sunday, and it is the district’s responsibility to do their homework and meet our effort to reach an agreement on Saturday.”

The school district has not announced its full plans if a strike should occur, but did address several issues in a message to families on Tuesday.

“Our primary goal during labor negotiations is to maintain stability, keep operations running smoothly, and support our students,” Superintendent Roy Rakszawski wrote.

The school board has not considered canceling athletics or other extracurricular activities if a strike occurs, Rakszawski said. District administration is “actively securing transportation so coaches, advisors, and student participants who choose to continue can do so without disruption.”

The district also will continue to provide transportation for Central Pennsylvania Institute of Technology students so they do not miss instructional time.

The school board is scheduled to vote on approving contingency transportation for CPI students and athletics and extracurriculars during its meeting on Tuesday night. Board President Jon Guizar also will give an update on negotiations.

“Our Board of Directors and administration remain fully committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a fair agreement and avert a strike,” Rakszawski wrote in his message on Tuesday morning.

Union members are seeking a new salary schedule that addresses the compensation gap that puts Bellefonte’s professional staff at the bottom of the pack among Centre County school districts. Guizar previously said the district wants to reach an agreement that provides for staff while being mindful of the budget and keeping tax increases “at a level the community can afford.”

“Early-bird” negotiations began more than a year ago, but the union’s previous contract expired on June 30 and members began the 2026-27 school year without a contract.

District solicitor Carl Beard recommended at a September school board meeting entering a fact-finding period as a potential way to avoid a strike. Under Pennsylvania’s school code, the parties can ask the state to appoint a fact finder who hears the offers from both sides then makes a non-binding recommendation in a process that takes no more than 40 days. If either side rejects it, negotiations would resume.

Union representatives dismissed the idea at the time, and again on Friday when the district formally requested it in a letter from Beard.

“It will not bring us closer to an agreement and will prolong the situation at taxpayer expense,” Connor Lewis, region advocacy coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said. “We have informed the district repeatedly, both privately and publicly, that our focus is on securing an agreement at the bargaining table. Instead, they are wasting valuable time and energy on stall tactics and distractions instead of engaging in good faith negotiations.”

During bargaining on Sept. 29, the union says it agreed to “a number of district proposals” for fringe benefits, compensatory pay, vacancies and bereavement leave, marking the first tentative agreements of the negotiations.