DALLAS, Pa. – Teachers in Dallas Township, Pennsylvania walked out on their students Monday for the district’s first-ever teachers strike, though the extent of the teachers union’s demands remain unclear.

Dallas Education Association officials contend they’ve presented the district’s negotiation team with multiple healthcare and salary proposals, and opted to strike after delaying the action twice, The Citizen’s Voice reports.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

“They haven’t given us a proposal,” DEA official John Holland told WNEP. “In 18 months we haven’t received one proposal from the district. That’s inexcusable.”

Media reports contend the board and union disagree on teacher salary, health care, and retirement costs. DEA president Mike Cherinka told the Times Leader the school board contends “they have no money.”

“We want to see if that is true,” he said, adding that the DEA requested financial documents from the last two school years. Last year’s annual financial report, however, is currently being audited and will not be available until Nov. 30, superintendent Thomas Duffy said.

According to the Times Leader:

Dallas School District’s finances were publicly reviewed in January as school board members formulated the 2016-17 budget. …

School board members opted to apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for exemptions under Act 1 Index. The exemptions allowed the district to raise property taxes above the tax limit due to rising costs of pensions and special education.

The final version of the district’s budget passed in May had a 4.05 percent tax hike for homeowners, which would equate to an additional $55.64 per year on a home valued at $157,000.

In a Times Leader story about the May school board meeting, Grant Palfey, district business manager, said $759,000 in financial cuts were made in the 2016-17 proposed budget as a result of reviewing contracted vendors and changing service providers.

Duffy told the Citizen’s Voice he’s working with the state Department of Education to determine how long teachers can continue to strike under state law, which requires schools to provide 180 school days.

“My hope is that I’ll be able to … determine the potential for its duration,” he said. “We’ll put out additional communication.”

[xyz-ihs snippet=”NEW-In-Article-Rev-Content-Widget”]

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

Duffy said district officials are sending out updates to parents through automated calls or text messages, as well as posts to the district website. He noted that extracurricular sports will continue, but student clubs may be called off by teacher advisors.

“The collective bargaining … indicated to us they were okay with teachers who serve in extracurricular roles to continue to serve in those roles,” he said, adding that district offices, administrators and support staff will also continue with business as usual.

In the meantime, dozens of teachers are picketing in front of Dallas Elementary School toting signs with messages like “Think education is expensive? Try ignorance!” WNEP reports.

“We’ll be out here until the Department of Education tells us to go back or we come to an agreement,” Cherinka said.

Students who spoke with the news site seemed to be bummed that the teachers union will likely ruin their Christmas break.

“It’s a nice little break we have, but we’ll make it up soon,” one student said.

“The fact that we’re gonna have to make it up over Christmas break is a little overwhelming,” another said.

Parents and local residents also lashed out at the union during a school board meeting Monday night, with at least one woman implying that teachers should pay for their own health insurance, WNEP reports.

“Why do you think that you’re better than the rest of us professionals?” the unidentified woman asked union officials. “That you don’t have to do that?”

Other parents expressed frustration about the union’s vow to drag the ordeal out for weeks.

“I would really hate to see them continue,” parent Bonny Mannello said. “They said they can continue up until December 14, which would put them into losing their Christmas break, which I don’t really want to see that happen either.”

District officials said they plan to meet soon to determine whether the teachers strike will impact graduation next spring.