Teachers who were hired by the Harrisburg School District since July 2016 faced a rude awakening when they learned late last week that raises promised to entice them to the district were imperiled by a labor grievance.
Incoming teachers who were part of a wave of hires designed to address an ongoing shortage were offered salaries that increased their pay beyond the existing negotiated "steps." The Harrisburg Education Association, however, filed a grievance due to the disparity with existing teachers, who've seen pay increases frozen amid recent budget woes.
According to the district, 71 newer recruits and transfers from other districts may be impacted.
Curtis Tribue, the district's human relations director, wrote in a letter dated Sept. 15 that the grievance--which related to a clause in the teachers' collective bargaining agreement--hurts the district's competitiveness with neighboring schools.
"This clause also impacts our ability to attract and retain highly qualified educators like yourself," he wrote, in the letter that went to affected teachers.
District spokeswoman Kirsten Keys told PennLive Thursday that it was working with the union on the issue.
"The district has invested a lot of resources and time to attract highly qualified and experienced new staff, while being sensitive to the step placements of current staff," she said, in a written statement.
As of this summer, Harrisburg was among the top public school districts statewide in terms of teacher shortages. At the time, the district reported 40 vacant teaching positions. Philadelphia had the largest, with 255 vacant posts.
The district ramped up recruitment efforts, which included its first career fair to attract new teachers. By the start of the school year in late August, the district told The Burg that it had 12 vacancies. More updated figures were not immediately available Thursday.
This article was updated with the number of teachers affected.
Source: PennLive
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