In an article in Thursday's edition of the Butler Eagle, Bob Hill, vice president of the Seneca Valley School Board, expressed alarm over ongoing reluctance by many members of the community to approach either the board or the teachers union with opinions about the unresolved contract dispute, due to fear of retribution.

"If that's the perception of this community of how local government operates, that's horrible," he said.

Unfortunately, the fear of retaliation is real and that fear has extended to non-district residents who are employed at Seneca Valley in non-teaching positions — such as a district bus driver who sent an anonymous letter that was received by the Eagle on Thursday.

"We (bus drivers) are dedicated to taking care of our kids, not bent on making a million dollars," the bus driver, who provided only his or her address on the envelope, wrote.

"Their (teachers') pay rate is 4, 5 or even 6 times our rate," the letter continued. "Their pay will be retroactive; ours is still 0 percent — all of this a month before Christmas.

"Does anybody ever think of somebody else?"

As important as that question might be to the bus driver and others, including Seneca Valley students and parents, what's even more important is for all concerned to acknowledge the reality that the month-long strike that ended Thursday accomplished virtually nothing.

The two sides are not much closer to resolving the pay issue and how much teachers should pay toward their health insurance coverage than they were before the strike began — indeed, when contract negotiations began almost two years ago.

And, there is no guarantee that non-binding arbitration, the next step in trying to resolve the dispute, will be any more successful than was the idling of school district classes for a month.

As long as the two sides remain firmly planted in their current positions, there will be no settlement.

For the teachers, it will mean an indefinite delay in enjoying retroactive pay to which they presumably will be entitled under whatever new contract eventually is approved. For the district, the lack of an approved professional employees contract will mean continued unrest and uncertainty, including the possibility of future strikes that might or might not produce any positive results.

As the just-completed walkout was ready to wind down, the teachers union could have enhanced its image if it had come forth with a statement acknowledging that the union's dispute was with the school board, not the students and their parents.

That statement could have emphasized that the teachers respected the right of students and parents to disagree with their stance and, even if they chose to disagree publicly, the teachers, as professionals dedicated to their educational mission, would not retaliate in any way against those whom they were hired to serve.

That the teachers did little or nothing to quell the fears of possible retribution — even if they are in fact committed to respecting students' and parents' right of free speech regarding the contract stalemate — must be viewed as troubling by the Seneca Valley community.

The community deserved such an assurance.

"One of the things that came out of this (strike) is much more parental involvement and understanding of our contract and the bargaining process," said Patrick Andrekovich, the teachers' chief negotiator.

While some district residents might agree, many others continue to be confused by the two sides' spin on what the other is proposing.

With the district's schools continuing to gear up in the aftermath of the strike, while facing the possibility of another strike later in the school year if a pact isn't achieved, Seneca Valley is left watching and waiting to see what, if anything, transpires.

District residents will be interested in seeing whether there will be an unusual number of teacher sick days or personal days used over the holidays. Meanwhile, people will be watching to see whether there also will be an inordinate number of student absences during that time.

Regardless, ramifications of this contract dispute, even if confined to teacher morale, will likely persist well beyond this school year.

In the weeks ahead, both sides must assess the damage that has been wrought and decide whether prolonging the dispute will, in the end, result in more harm than good.

Besides non-binding arbitration, next on the agenda should be considerable soul-searching.