Any progress on a new contract between teachers with the Manchester Township School District and the district has come to a halt after mediation was cancelled. Sessions were cancelled because the mediator experienced personal problems, which originally postponed negotiations and then cancelled them completely without setting a date for them to resume.

Though nobody is at fault for the delay, not having a new contract is affecting morale, according to representatives from both sides. The previous contract expired June 30 and for the first time in two decades there was no new contract in place before the expiration.

Members of the teachers’ union are frustrated by their current situation and expressed that frustration at a school board meeting in mid-September. They read a statement and voiced concern over the numerous attempts at negotiation since spring of 2015 and stated they see “… no good reason hard-working professionals in this district [should be] forced into this unfortunately position.”

They also pointed out they would rather have their entire focus on students, as opposed to worrying about their contract. They’re unhappy they had to wait until spring to begin negotiations and feel the school board has overlooked all of their hard work. Despite their statements that they are willing to negotiation, there are obvious hard feelings concerning the timeframe and other issues.

The school board had no response to the teachers’ union statement. Both sides claim they want to put the animosity behind them and move forward with negotiations as soon as possible.