Bellefonte teachers authorize Oct. 12 strike

District, union have additional bargaining sessions planned before deadline

BELLEFONTE -- Bellefonte Area School District teachers have overwhelmingly authorized a strike beginning Oct. 12 if the district and union are unable to reach a new contract agreement.

The Bellefonte Area Education Association announced this week that approximately 94% of its members participated in a strike authorization vote Monday, with 99.5% of those voting in favor.

The association represents approximately 230 professional staff members in the Bellefonte Area School District and is affiliated with the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Following the vote, the union’s negotiations committee voted to deliver a strike notice to the district setting Monday, Oct. 12, as the potential start date. The union said it has offered multiple dates to continue negotiations before then.

"A strike is always a last resort," association President Allison Kyte, a mathematics teacher at Bellefonte Area High School, said. "Our immediate goal is making progress at the table. We’re committed to using the coming weeks to reach a fair agreement and have offered multiple bargaining dates to the district to continue negotiations."

The two sides are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Sept. 22.

Negotiations on a new contract have been underway since September 2025, according to the association. Bellefonte educators have not gone on strike since September 1972.

Chief Negotiator Larry Fry, a social studies teacher at Bellefonte Area Middle School, said the strike authorization demonstrates the membership’s dissatisfaction with the district’s current offer.

"Our membership has made it loud and clear to district negotiators that we believe we and our students deserve more than what the district is offering," Fry said. "They need to show they’re listening by reaching a fair deal, because we’re ready and willing to strike if we’re forced to do so."

Bellefonte Area School District Superintendent Roy Rakszawski and school board President Jon Guizar issued a joint statement Wednesday emphasizing that a strike is not certain and negotiations will continue.

"The board of directors are committed to continuing to negotiate in good faith until a fair and equitable agreement is reached," the statement said. "Both the district and the association share the goal of resolving this dispute without disrupting student instruction."

District officials said multiple bargaining sessions have been proposed between now and Oct. 12.

"We stand ready to dedicate the time necessary to reach a solution," Rakszawski and Guizar said.

The district said it will continue providing updates as negotiations progress and will release contingency plans if a disruption to the school schedule becomes unavoidable.