The Palmerton Area Education Association gave its leadership authorization to call for a strike during a meeting of its membership Tuesday.

PAEA has been negotiating with the school district on a new teachers’ contract since February.“We are optimistic that we can come to an amicable agreement,” PAEA President Tom Smelas said Wednesday morning. “The goal is to get a contract settled as soon as possible and attempt to do that without exercising the strike authorization we received yesterday.”The last contract, which ran four years, expired June 30.Smelas said the two sides are continuing to meet, including a session scheduled for Wednesday night.At a school board meeting on Sept. 20, Towamensing Elementary School teacher Brittany Hunsicker said it was the 81st day without a contract.“The staff hopes for a diligent and productive resolution so it can turn its full attention to the students of the district,” she said.Palmerton school board members Susan Debski and Charles Gildner, who are on the district’s negotiating team, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.