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BELLEFONTE -- Contract negotiations between the Bellefonte Area School District and its teachers' union remain unresolved, with a potential work stoppage planned for Oct. 12 if the sides do not reach an agreement.
The issue was discussed at Tuesday's Bellefonte Area School Board meeting, one day after members of the Bellefonte Area Education Association authorized a strike if an agreement is not reached.
The union has issued notice of a planned work stoppage beginning Oct. 12. The two sides are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Sept. 22.
During public comment Tuesday, Jonathan Virgilio, a Bellefonte Area High School math teacher, spoke on behalf of the Bellefonte Area Education Association about the negotiations.
Virgilio said the negotiations process officially began in August 2025 and has become increasingly stalled.
He said union representatives have had difficulty scheduling bargaining sessions and that there have sometimes been months between negotiation dates. He also said the district has presented proposals through its attorney or a state mediator that the union has been unable to accept.
"We cannot accept them as written because they have provisions we have repeatedly stated are poison pills," Virgilio said.
Virgilio also said the union is seeking a contract that would make compensation more competitive with other Centre County school districts.
"We are asking for a fair contract that will keep us competitive with the county," Virgilio said.
He said the union does not expect Bellefonte to match State College Area School District salaries, but wants to make progress toward closing the compensation gap.
District officials challenged the union's characterization of the negotiations.
School board President Jon Guizar and district solicitor Carl Beard discussed the bargaining process during the meeting, including an early-bird facilitation process that began in August 2025 and involved a state-appointed mediator.
Beard said that process produced a framework for a five-year agreement involving salary schedules. He said the union later rejected the framework.
Beard said the district and union then returned to negotiations, including sessions in May, August and September, but had not reached a contract agreement.
Guizar said the district recognizes there is a gap in the salary schedule and wants to address it while also considering the district's finances.
"We all agree that there's a gap in the schedule, we're trying to fix it," Guizar said.
Guizar said the district historically agreed to overall salary increases while the association developed the salary schedules. He said the district now wants to be involved in developing the schedule.
A major point of discussion Tuesday was whether the two sides should enter a fact-finding process.
Beard explained that fact-finding is an option under Pennsylvania law when negotiations reach an impasse. He said either side, or both sides jointly, can request that the state appoint a fact finder to review the parties' positions and issue a recommendation. He said the process can take up to 40 days.
Beard argued that fact-finding could provide a path toward an agreement without a work stoppage.
"If you go the strike route, you need to inconvenience everybody for 12 or 15 days to get to a process that already exists that creates no disruption between the parties," Beard said.
Guizar said he would prefer the two sides to voluntarily enter fact-finding and said he would be disappointed if the district reaches a work stoppage when other options are available.
Connor Lewis, region advocacy coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, disagreed with the district's approach. Lewis said fact-finding would not bring the sides closer to an agreement and argued that district officials should continue negotiating directly with union members.
The Bellefonte Area Education Association represents approximately 230 professional staff members. About 94% of members participated in Monday's strike authorization vote, with 99.5% voting in favor, according to the union. The union also said the potential strike would be the first by Bellefonte educators since September 1972.
The next bargaining session is scheduled for Sept. 22. The union's planned Oct. 12 work stoppage remains possible if the two sides do not reach an agreement before then.