(KRON) — The California Public Employee Relations board denied an appeal from the Oakland Unified School District on Wednesday, clearing the path for the city’s teachers to go on strike.

“We’re ready to do what we need to do to ensure that we retain teachers in Oakland, and we have the resources for our students,” said Ishmael Armendariz, Oakland Education Association interim president.

Armendariz said the board’s decision to allow the union to strike makes it clear OUSD has not been bargaining in good faith. The district, however, disagrees.

In a recorded message posted on YouTube, Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell defended negotiations and announced a possible strike could happen as early as the first week of May.

The board and the union have been locked in negotiations for months. The OEA wants all employees to have salaries increased by 10 percent with a 60-day retroactive kickback.

In addition, they want a one-time stipend of $10,000 for all OEA members who return in the 2023-2024 school year along with other increases for starting teachers. The district has offered a three-and-a-half percent raise with added compensation packages that would allow teachers to receive salary increases faster than they have in years prior.

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Last month, teachers staged a one-day unauthorized walkout as negotiations lagged. There are 34,000 students in the OUSD and many of their parents have signed a petition opposing a potential teacher strike.

The teachers’ union and the district leaders are set to resume negotiations on Thursday and Friday.