Hide Article Text (OCR)
Strife-torn schools off to fresh startSOUTH POINT, Ohio »APlt; - KathyRoberts is entering her second weekas a teacher at South Point HighSchool and she's excited by her first five days on the job‘ The kids have been really helpful, said Ms Roberts, who teaches business English and journalism ’ Attendance has been good and they seem to really want to have a good year This represents a fresh start for them, vou know Those sentiments might be expectedto come from most school systems around the country but South Point iswan exception It was just a few weeksago that this small, rural system wasin complete chaos After weeks of salary negotiations last spring, the South Point Association of Classroom Teachers (SPACTi struck the system May 5 The system s 108 teachers refused to enter their classrooms and a bitter struggle began that soon led to mass arrests jail sentences and a flurry of court suits The teachers were fired The pupih stayed away en masse Nobody knew what to expect this fall The legal ramifications have yet to be resolved but the system's seven schools — including a high school.junior high and five grade sch«xls — apparently are functioning as well as can be expected in the face of a newand largely inexperienced staffSchool Supt Lawrence Derifield who assumed his office just three days before last spring’s strike, is keeping his fingers crossed We had heard rumors attendance would be down he said But we had 2 602 students last year and we have 2 600 this fall, so the situation appears to have stablized ”Only 28 of last year’s teaching force is back this fall and five of the district's seven principals also are new As a result, Derifield said the first week was a time of adjustment‘‘HoweverA’ he added, “we re wellpleased with the new staff, everything considered We had no trouble finding teachers As a matter oi fact, 1 interviewed 500 applicants for the 76 jobs, so I do feel we have a very capable staff ... and their actions this past week seem to bear this out.”Derifield said he has heard very little from SPACT since school began “I understand they’re seeking court action,” he added There have beeneight cases settled and they’ve all been ' settled in favor of the board of education The teachers were fired under theprovisions of the controversial Ferguson act, which prohibits Ohio'spublic employes from striking.However, Derifield said the board has reinstated all teachers who asked for private hearings during the summer including several he said had clearly violat«*d the actMeanwhile. SPACT President LesYork said the fired teachers are hopeful they will be reinstated after their hearings before a special court during the latter part of September 'The constitutionality of theFerguson Act will be considered, hesaid, and we feel the board will be ordered to rehire us He said the Ohio Industrial Commission had recently recommended that the teachers be rehjred“If we’re not rehired. they'vebroken the union said York He saidBone of the South Point teat hers nowworking is a SPACT member York said he hadn t been keeping up with the quality of education in the South Point classrooms‘But,' he added. * we know many of the teachers are inexperienced and we don't feel a teacher can come into a situation like this and do a good job For one thing they were all hired on a contingency basis The teacher s association struck after being unable to get the board to agree to a minimum starting salary of 18 000 plus a $1 000 bonus to each teacher in the districtThe starting salary is somewhere around $7,300 .“ said Ms Robert who has never before taught fulltime ‘ But I get $8 000 becaue of my Master’sdegreeA recent graduate of Marshall Un iversity at nearby Huntington W. Va she said she had received several pamphlets from SPACT and on one occasion had been visited by threeteachers, but had not been home at the timeI also got several telephone calls but they, thankfully have stopped ”she added She said the pamphlets had been critical of the school board membersBut I've been treated very well,” she said “Everybody is working hardand nobody ever mentions the strikeWe’v# ail been to busy wc readyhaven’t had a chance to discuss it “
Newspaper Details
Dover Times Reporter
Dover, Ohio, US
Mon, Sep 01, 1975
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Brickael S.
NA, 15 Nov 2022
Other Publications Near Dover, Ohio
Dover Weekend Daily Reporter
Dover Daily Times
Dover Times Reporter
Weekend Daily Reporter
Dover Daily Reporter
