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Galesburg parents fight to make up lost school days

Parents in Galesburg, Illinois, are fighting to make up the school days lost due to a teachers’ strike.

Parents in Galesburg, Illinois, are fighting to make up the school days lost due to a teachers' strike.

In September, a strike cancelled the first 10 days of the school year for District 205. Under the terms of a return-to-work agreement, negotiated and agreed upon by both the Board of Education and the teachers' union, only four of those missed days will be made up.

Under the agreement, the district now falls six school days short of the state-mandated 174 days.  That disqualifies the district from receiving some state funding.

In response, a movement known as "Restore 174" has sprung up on social media, and yard signs can be seen around Galesburg.

Monday, September 8, 2014, it was standing room only at the first Board of Education meeting since the strike ended.  Community members even spilled into the hallway as 25 people took the podium to address the board, asking members to amend the return-to-work agreement and set a new calendar.

Parents also presented a petition to the board with more than 1,100 signatures.

It means six fewer days of instruction to my kids, but they have friends who are in reading recovery, for example, or who have occupational therapy or speech therapy, who have six fewer days of one-on-one interaction with professionals," said Emily Anderson, a parent of two kids at Silas Ward.

Changes to the school calendar were not on the board's agenda that night, and no action was taken on the issue.

Near the end of the meeting, though, several board members did address the public's comments, with some expressing a desire to restore the calendar to 174 days.

"I believe we can and should find a way," said board member Tom Colclasure.

Others, though, pointed out that no realistic plan has been presented to make up the days.  Others raised the possibility that re-opening the return-to-work agreement could reopen the entire contract to negotiation.

Board members made no plans for future action on the calendar issue.

 

 

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