As contract negotiations with Mars Area School District drag on, the teachers’ union is publicly airing its grievances and planning a rally before the next school board meeting.

Meanwhile, the school district said it is pursuing additional “fact finding” in preparation for upcoming negotiations.

The Mars Area Education Association met with the district’s negotiating team on July 7, about a week after its past contract expired on June 30. Since then, the association has indicated negotiations continue to be at a standstill.

“We are committed to continue to advocate for a fair settlement for our teachers and are willing to do whatever it takes to reach that goal,” Hollie Meckler, president of the association, said Tuesday, July 14.

Now, the union is asking community members to attend the school board’s July 28 meeting to support the teachers. The association is also holding a rally before the meeting, according to its Facebook profile.

“As contract negotiations continue, we’re asking our community to stand with the educators who serve our students every day,” the social media post reads. “The upcoming school board meeting is an opportunity to show that our community supports attracting and retaining excellent teachers through fair treatment and meaningful investment in our classrooms.”

The district and union have held over 20 bargaining sessions over the past year to try and come to an agreement.

At a school board meeting June 9, Meckler and some school board members said that some concessions and agreements had been made by both sides.

But after a bargaining session held June 25, the association said in a news release the next day that “critical” issues remained unresolved between it and the board. The union claimed district representatives supposedly ended negotiations after 90 minutes.

Differing stances between the two sides include what annual salary increases, health insurance coverage and the length of the overall contract should look like.

At the June 9 board meeting, member Jennifer DiCuccio said the board was proposing 3.5% wage increases for the 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.

Meanwhile, the teachers are proposing a 6% increase in 2026-27, 5.5% in 2027-28 and 2028-29, 5.25% in 2029-30 and 5% in 2030-31.

DiCuccio previously estimated the district’s proposal would cost $1.8 million over three years. She estimated the union’s proposal would increase district spending by about $5.4 million over five years.

Meanwhile, the union has pointed to other districts when advocating for higher wage increases, saying the board’s current proposal would “leave us falling behind.” It claims that Mars teachers have an average salary of $74,096 for the 2025-26 year. That compares to $95,235 at North Allegheny, $90,636 at Pine-Richland and $97,175 at Seneca Valley.

Meckler said Tuesday the district “can afford to invest in teachers,” pointing to $7 million it has added to its fund balance over the past five years.

“This demonstrates that the district is in a strong financial position,” Meckler said. “We believe some of those resources should be invested in people who directly educate students every day.”

Josh Schwoebel, Mars’ director of communications, said the district “will be pursuing fact finding in the teacher’s negotiations,” without specifying exactly what that entails.

Previously, both sides said they hoped to have an agreement before students and staff return at the end of summer.