Teachers Strike Averted In Belle Vernon

BELLE VERNON, Pa. — (WPXI) – The Belle Vernon Area School District and its teachers reached a tentative agreement Thursday night, preventing a strike that would have started Friday, the Belle Vernon Area Education Association announced. Negotiations began in January 2019. Teachers had been working without a contract since June 30, when the previous agreement expired, officials said. Details of the agreement are not being released until both sides are able to formally vote on the final contract, the BVAEA said. “Our teachers were passionate about reaching an agreement with the Board, and our negotiations team worked to get it done at the last minute,” BVAEA President Daneen Watson said in a statement. “We are very pleased that we could get this hammered out for the benefit of everyone involved.”