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SWB RailRiders rally comes up short against Durham Bulls

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H.S. Softball: Holy Redeemer rallies in ninth to win District 2 Class 2A title

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Activists are organizing what they hope will be a large protest Saturday against looming program cuts in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District, while the district&#8217;s teachers union says it&#8217;s preparing to file labor grievances.</p><p>&#8220;I spoke to some of the students who were protesting and they felt like no adult is listening to them,&#8221; organizer Robin Shudak said. &#8220;Mostly (our protest) is to show the students there are people who want to listen to them.&#8221;</p><p>With an external report suggesting the district could be $70 million in the red within five years, the school board has adopted a &#8220;pathway to the future&#8221; that calls for $4 million in cuts for 2016-17 and another $2.5 million in 2017-18. A third round of savings totaling $4 million would be sought in 2019-20.</p><p>Shudak said she started organizing the protest &#8212; set for 3 p.m. Saturday on Public Square &#8212; with modest expectations, but that it has mushroomed. As of Wednesday afternoon, she said, 150 people had responded, including some volunteering to bring water for the crowd.</p><p>A Meyers High School graduate managed reserve a billboard for a few days to spread the message, she added.</p><p>&#8220;The response has been really heartening,&#8221; Shudak said, adding that Wilkes-Barre city officials &#8220;have been very supportive. Some of them will speak at the event.&#8221;</p><p>Shudak has been active with the Save Our Schools group, formed after the school board voted to merge grades nine through 12 at Meyers and Coughlin High Schools into a new school to be built at the Coughlin site. She noted the protest is not an SOS event.</p><p>The SOS message has increasingly focused on slowing things down and developing a more comprehensive plan for the district. When the board voted to cut arts, industrial arts, library services and family and consumer sciences, some critics argued it further proved the need to hit the pause button.</p><p>The Wilkes-Barre Area Education Association has taken a two-pronged approach to the looming layoffs: Offer alternatives and file legal action.</p><p>&#8220;The union has reached out to the district to discuss ways to prevent cuts to the programs our students in Wilkes-Barre Area need and deserve,&#8221; Union President Jeff Ney said via email. But he also promised the union &#8220;will be filing grievances on the furloughs to protect our members.&#8221;</p><p>Even if the union and the school board can come to an agreement for the upcoming school year that saves parts or all of the programs, the negotiations would be far from over. The teacher contract expires Aug. 31 next year, and by law the two sides must start talks sometime in January or February.</p><p>Ney declined speculation on upcoming contract talks, saying it would be &#8220;inappropriate.&#8221;</p><p>Board member Ned Evans, who is not on the board&#8217;s budget and finance committee, has promised to develop an alternative plan for cuts that would preserve the threatened programs.</p><p>Shudak said Saturday&#8217;s event was prompted by the program cuts but is intended to highlight the district&#8217;s other problems. &#8220;Democracy happens when people come together and talk,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I want it to be a peaceful assembly where people can share their ideas.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A classroom stands vacant inside James M. Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL0501216Coughlin3.jpg</photo0><caption0>A classroom stands vacant inside James M. Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre Area cuts spur plans for Saturday protest, union grievances