MURPHYSBORO (WSIL) 鈥� The clock has struck midnight on contract negotiations as teachers from聽Murphysboro School District 186 will go on strike starting Thursday.
The strike will close all of the district鈥檚 schools and cancel all extracurricular activities聽including all聽athletic events.
"We鈥檝e got volleyball tournaments, cross country meets. There鈥檚 just a lot of activities that the kids will not participate in," said district superintendent Chris Grode. He adds that the school board鈥檚 final offer聽was rejected twice, including at Wednesday night鈥檚 meeting at Carruther鈥檚 Elementary School.
"(The offer)聽was an average four-percent increase to their salaries, and that鈥檚 with 100% of insurance and 100% of their retirement being paid for by the district," said Grode.
Murphysboro Education Association representative Lisa Shields says the community support has given them hope as they tried to bargain for better contracts.
"We know there鈥檚 a lot at stake," Shields said. "We want to be here with our students, that鈥檚 our priority, and that is why we feel so strong about this."
But after an hour of negotiations, the school board announced that an agreement was not set , paving the聽way for a strike.
In a news release, Grode said the board was 鈥榝rustrated鈥� after the teacher鈥檚 union rejected it鈥檚 final offer. He added that the teachers demanded that the district 鈥榙eficit spend鈥� more than what was fiscally responsible.
In a separate release, Shields called the latest development unfortunate聽and that "we had to go on strike so we can continue to fight for what鈥檚 best for our community".
