Following Friday's State Employment Relations Board ruling that the YEA's strike is authorized, Senator Brown (D-OH) penned a letter to Jeremy Batchelor, Superintendent of the Youngstown City School District, and Eric Teutsch, President of the YEA, urging the parties to return to the negotiating table.

"I ask all of you to return to the bargaining table and do everything in your power to reach a contract as soon as possible that honors the dignity of work, students, families, and all educational professionals. It’s unacceptable that our students are missing critical in-person class time. Any delay in returning to negotiate unacceptably puts students at risk of losing even more time in the classroom,” Brown said. "We need to ensure that our children receive the in-class instruction necessary for them to learn."

Youngstown City Schools still have yet to comment on the ruling, but have a Special Meeting of the school board scheduled for Friday night, specifically to address the ongoing YEA strike and negotiations. 

In an earlier statement on the SERB's ruling, YEA spokesperson Jim Courim said, in part, "We need to ensure that our children receive the in-class instruction necessary for them to learn."

No future negotiation dates have been set out by either party thus far, and it is unclear if and when teachers and administrators will return to the negotiating table.

In his letter, provided below, Brown further urges YCSD to recognize "the essential role teachers play in helping all our children reach their full potential."

"Teachers in Youngstown have worked hard and made sacrifices for the good of this community. In order for parents and students to get the high-quality education they deserve, we need teachers who are supported and working under a fair contract so they can be the leaders in educational growth that we need them to be."

21 News has also reached out to Brown's junior counterpart, J.D. Vance (R-OH), for comment, but has yet to receive a response.