Columbus educators may strike

Amid tense negotiations, Columbus' teachers union is considering going on strike with the school year quickly approaching.

Threat level: A three-year employment contract between Columbus City Schools and its 4,000-member Columbus Education Association expires Aug. 21 — four days before students are scheduled to return to classes.

What's next: Union members meet Aug. 4 and may vote to authorize a 10-day strike notice, president John Coneglio said in a statement.

Flashback: The situation calls back to 2019, when bargaining sessions went down to the wire but ended in a retroactive agreement a few days after classes began.

Of note: Columbus teachers haven't gone on strike since 1975, so it's very possible both sides reach an agreement once again.

Yes, but: The pandemic has disrupted education in unprecedented and unexpected ways, so anything could happen.

• Gahanna-Jefferson learned exactly that when its teachers went on strike in 2020.