Teachers may walk out of the classrooms and onto the picket lines in one local school district if a contract isn’t reached soon.

The Beaver Local Education Association gave a 10-day strike notice to the state Employment Board Wednesday.

The teachers' current contract expires Sunday and they said they are ready to strike on Sept. 22 if they don’t have a new contract in their hands.

“The school board believes we have a fair and good faith offer on the table,” said Sandra Dibacco, Beaver Local Schools superintendent.

The teachers association doesn’t see it that way. The union represents nearly 150 teachers, librarians and guidance counselors and they said they are frustrated with the contract talks.

“The association wants to make sure the school board and our superintendent realize how seriously we need a new contract,” said Beaver Local Education Association representative Leslie Gabbert.

Dibacco said the board has been willing to negotiate from day 1 and asked for a mediator to join the talks in June. “We really believe sometime you need to bring in that independent third party,” said Dibacco.

Gabbert said there have been many sessions, but negotiations, in the true sense of the word, have not taken place.

The last strike in the Beaver Local School District was in 1990 and teachers were out of work for seven weeks.

The two sides will meet again Thursday afternoon with a federal mediator in hopes of reaching a new agreement.

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