Bellefonte Teachers and Staff Union Votes in Favor of Strike Authorization if Contract Agreement Isn’t Reached

Unionized teachers and staff in the Bellefonte Area School District on Monday voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike if contract negotiations continue to falter.

About 94% of the Bellefonte Area Education Association’s 230 members participated in the vote, with 99.5% of those voting yes on strike authorization, according to a release from the union on Monday night.

The union’s negotiating committee now will deliver a strike notice for Oct. 12 to district leadership and offer multiple negotiation dates before then. It would be the first strike by Bellefonte teachers and staff since 1972, according to the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

“A strike is always a last resort,” Allison Kyte, union president and a math teacher at the high school, said in a statement. “Our immediate goal is making progress at the table. We’re committed to using the coming weeks to reach a fair agreement and have offered multiple bargaining dates to the district to continue negotiations. We hope the district meets us at the table in the same spirit.”

Bargaining sessions began a year ago, but Bellefonte Area Education Association members said last week that they have been stalled by district negotiators. After the previous agreement expired on June 30, unionized employees entered the 2026-27 school year without a contract.

They said they are seeking a contract that addresses the compensation gap that puts Bellefonte’s professional staff at the bottom of the pack among Centre County school districts.

“Our membership has made it loud and clear to district negotiators that we believe we and our students deserve more than what the district is offering,” Larry Fry, BEAE chief negotiator and a social studies teacher at the middle school, said in a statement on Monday. “They need to show they’re listening by reaching a fair deal, because we’re ready and willing to strike if we’re forced to do so.”

School Board President Jon Guizar, chair of the district’s negotiations committee, said that the board was “quite surprised” by Friday’s announcement of a strike authorization vote.

“This is the first we’ve heard any talk of stalled negotiations or a strike potential,” Guizar wrote in an email to StateCollege.com. “We have felt like we are working diligently to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement that provides for our staff and students while also being mindful of our budget and keeping necessary tax increases at a level the community can afford.”

He added that an offer is on the table and that the union was expected to respond at the next negotiation session on Sept. 22.

Connor Lewis, region advocacy coordinator for the PSEA, said union negotiators declined to accept the offer as written at the last session and would have a response to it ready at the next round of bargaining.