Reynoldsburg public school students were met by substitute teachers this morning as they headed to their classrooms. Thats because Reynoldsburgs 350 teachers walked out on strike at midnight. Even though the school system had a contingency plan in place in the event that a strike occurred, chaos reigned at some schools, at least according to the teachers union. The union claims staffing is grossly inadequate. But schools superintendent Tina Thomas-Manning said thats not true. Most of the buildings are not at full capacity but we are very satisfied with the amount of substitutes that we were able to secure, Thomas-Manning said.
A fight among several students did break out at Livingston High School late this morning with about a half-dozen police officers responding. Reynoldsburg Police Chief Jim ONeill says no students were arrested and no chemical agents were used to break up the fight, only bodily restraint. ONeill says he does not know whether the change in routine may have been a contributing factor. Its just introducing a bunch of variables into their environment that theyre not used to and it has a tendency to set people off, ONeill says. Chief ONeill says parents and students should not be overly concerned about the Livingston incident. Its unfortunate that it happened this particular day because it probably raises the level of angst or concern on students and parents. I would say that its not significantly different than any other day that theyre dealing with, ONeill said. About 7,000 students are enrolled in Reynoldsburgs public schools.