Articles from Newspapers - Other Districts

I'm going to try to post articles about other Districts in the area about their contract talks & budgets.

From the Daily Local News :
Signs of unrest during contract talks

Unionville-Chadds Ford teachers post messages about bargaining problems
Sunday, September 19, 2010

By FRAN MAYE, Special to the Local News

Teachers in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District are showing solidarity by placing placards in their cars and holding signs at student drop-off spots after no progress was made in recent contract negotiations.

Teachers have been working under the terms of a previous contract, which expired at the end of June.

The "labor action" by 330 Unionville-Chadds Ford teachers is expected to continue throughout the school year, and it will impact student activities. Teachers will continue to teach, but many of their volunteer activities will be curtailed as teachers work the bare minimum required by their contract.

Teachers are curtailing activities like evening meetings, and teacher attendance at school events. For the first time, teachers will not be attending the upcoming Unionville Community Fair, slated for Oct. 1 to Oct. 3.

"Teachers at Unionville are being treated badly," said Ruthann Waldie, lead negotiator for the Unionville-Chadds Ford Teachers Education. "This contract should have been settled six months ago."

A school board meeting set for 7:30 p.m. Monday at Pocopson Elementary School will be an informational session for rank-and-file teachers. "We think some teachers really don't know what's on the table," said a school board member, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Contract talks have made no noticeable progress for the past seven months. Waldie said the board rejected the union's latest offer and no new negotiations have been planned.

The board is offering an average 1.8 percent salary increase over four years with a new health care plan that is more affordable to the district.

Broken down, it's 1.8 percent in year one, 1.8 percent in year two, no increase in year three and a 3.8 percent increase in year four.

The latest union proposal, according to Waldie, is a 4 percent per year average, broken down as 4.3 percent in year one, 4 percent in year two, 3.9 percent in year three and 3.9 percent in year four.

The union has offered a plan to pay more in health care co-pays; however, it claims the district's proposed health care plan is not used by any other school district, has no track record in education and has deductibles as high as $6,000.

School board representatives said those high-end deductibles are $4,500.

"We've shown them (school directors) ways to fund the salary schedule," Waldie said. "We can get this done, but teachers are prepared to do whatever needs to be done. Unionville is a top school district and I'd like to see teachers continued to be recognized for that."

But the school board said the teachers' proposal is "economically unsustainable."

One board member said the board simply cannot afford to come off its 1.8 percent salary increase figure, saying the board will likely "stick to its guns" with little to no movement on the salary issue.

A beginning teacher at Unionville with a bachelor's degree earns $47,743. The union is proposing $48,841.

A teacher with at least 16 years of experience and a master's degree plus 60 credit currently earns $101,427 at Unionville. The union's proposal would put that number at $103,760.

The average teacher salary at Unionville is $74,798. About 70 of the 330 teachers earn the maximum salary.

"As a practical matter, teachers' salaries represent the majority of the district's budget," according to a joint school board statement issued Friday. "While the negotiating team seeks to slow step movement, our offer still includes increases for teachers who further their education and grow in their profession."

School directors said salary is just one component of the negotiations.

"The total cost (salary, health care, Pennsylvania State Education Retirement System, FICA, tuition reimbursement and unemployment compensation) for one teacher at is $97,092, on average," according to the joint school directors statement. "The total district cost for each of the 70 teachers at the top of the salary schedule is more than $125,000 per year."

Waldie said that although a strike is an option, it's not being considered yet.

The Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association membership recently gave their negotiating committee the power to call a strike at the negotiating committee's discretion.

By law, any teacher strike in a Pennsylvania district must be terminated in time to allow 180 days of education by June 30. This provision of the law has the effect of limiting a Pennsylvania teacher strike to 15 school days or fewer.

But Waldie and school directors know the divide and chaos a strike can bring, and the problems it causes for students. School strikes in other districts have caused division and bad feelings for years, and Waldie said she is aware of that.

"The teachers are out there working, and the signs are just there for solidarity," Waldie said. "This is not a work-to-contract situation, but the teachers have desired not to volunteer. If students need help, teachers will be there to help them."

Waldie said teachers are growing impatient of working under terms of the old contract.

"We have several options provided us under the law, and we will take whatever action is needed to get a fair and equitable contract," Waldie said.

Rich Hug, a spokesman for the school district, said he knows the devastating impact a strike can bring because he experienced it recently in Downingtown, where he lives. "From an administrative standpoint, I hope for the best outcome for teachers and the taxpayers," he said.

"We may see a prolonged labor problem here," said one school director. "But we just can't go any higher."

No contract negotiations have been scheduled. School officials are expecting an overflow crowd at Monday night's meeting.