CLEVELAND — The Garfield Heights Teachers Association announced late Friday that a tentative agreement on a new contract has been reached.

What You Need To Know

  • Garfield Heights Teachers Association has a tentative agreement on new contract

  • Teachers had filed a 10-day notice to strike on Oct. 17

  • School district says strike notice has been formally withdrawn

The Garfield Heights School District confirmed the tentative agreement and added that a notice to strike had been formally withdrawn.

Per the union's statement, teachers will receive details of the agreement early next week and vote shortly thereafter. 

“We are proud of the tireless work that our negotiating team has done, especially over these past couple of weeks, to reach a tentative agreement with the District," said GHTA spokesperson Susan Hart in the statement. "It was their dedication to this process, our members, our students, and our community that allowed us to get to this point. We are also grateful to the mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, LaTwana Williams, for her work to bring the District back to the bargaining table so that we could continue to negotiate until a tentative agreement was reached.”

Teachers at GHCS have been working without a contract since the end of June. They filed a 10-day notice to strike on Oct. 17. 

Among the items teachers were negotiating for included an increase in pay, more professional development opportunities for teachers and safety issues.

According to Cleveland's 19 News, the district had the following response:

“The Garfield Heights City Schools and GHTA have cooperatively reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) after a full day of negotiating on Friday, October 21st, and is pleased to share that the notice to strike has been formally withdrawn. While more information will be forthcoming in the near future, the Board of Education wishes to share with families that the teacher strike intended for October 31st has been averted. Thank you for your continued attention to this matter, and for your continued support.”