JEFFERSON TWP — About 100 parents, students, teachers and taxpayers braved the icy temperatures Wednesday evening to attend a Heal Our Community rally at the South Butler County Primary Center.

Speakers at the rally, which was organized by the South Butler School Action Committee, supported the district's 168 teachers as their union negotiator and the district solicitor were meeting inside in a last-ditch effort to settle a contract.

The teachers will strike on Thursday if no agreement is made.