MADISON TOWNSHIP — Mike Leeper didn’t want to spend his Wednesday night at a school board meeting.
But there he was at the Madison High School Library, just two days before winter break.
“This is one of the last places in this world I want to be, especially at this meeting,” he said. “I’m sure my fellow teachers feel the same way.”
Leeper has been a teacher for more than three decades. He rarely, if ever, speaks at a board meetings.
But it’s been 140 days since the Madison teachers union contract expired, so he decided to step out of his comfort zone.
“After last month’s meeting, I felt it was important to address our administration, which I have never done in 35 plus years as a teacher and 20 plus years as the president of the teachers’ union,” Leeper said.
“I’ve come to dozens, which seems like hundreds, of board meetings. It seems like nothing changes — we have financial problems and the consistent response is cut, cut, cut,” he added.
According to Leeper and MLEA spokesperson Kristi Green, this will be the third consecutive negotiation to require mediation and a fact-finder.
“I’m not aware of any district that has gone through what the teachers in this district have.”
More than 50 audience members sat in the high school library Wednesday night, wearing red shirts and holding signs in support of the union.
“Our members have been working without a new contract since Aug. 1, 2024, and this is not fair to our community or to the students we have dedicated our lives and careers to serving,” Green said.
“The Madison Local Schools Board of Education must deliver a fair contract to the membership that allows teachers to continue to provide high-quality, individualized instruction to Madison Local students so they can succeed in our schools and beyond.”
Supt. Rob Peterson and treasurer Bradd Stevens declined to comment on the negotiations.
“Because of language in our negotiated agreement, I cannot discuss negotiations as they are private, but I do look forward to our proposal being made public when the time is appropriate to do so,” Peterson said. “We have great teachers and we most certainly want to support them.”
