NORRISTOWN >> A teachers’ strike could be looming
in the Methacton School District if an impasse in contract negotiations is not
resolved within quickly approaching deadlines.
The school board announced in a press release last week
that it has unilaterally filed a fact-finding request with the Pennsylvania
Labor Relations Board in an effort to settle on a contract with the Methacton
Education Association, which represents 403 educators who teach approximately
5,000 students in the district’s seven schools.
If the PLRB accepts the school district’s request, a
neutral third party will be assigned to perform a 40-day review of proposals
from each side and file a report with contract recommendations.
The district and the union would then have 10 days to
accept or reject the report in a process that would culminate on Nov. 19.
Although a strike is prohibited while fact-finding is
underway, the MEA could preclude the process should teachers choose to walk
before Sept. 19.
According to the district, most major issues, including
the development of salary schedules and work schedules, have been resolved, but
a chasm remains between labor and management when it comes to health care
coverage and premium sharing, which the district says it wants to bring in line
with neighboring school districts.
The teachers, who say they were blindsided and
disappointed by the district’s decision to unilaterally file for the
fact-finding request a day after lengthy negotiations broke down, argue that
they have made considerable concessions to help the district stay solvent
through the Great Recession and feel disrespected by having being presented
with a contract that would place them near the top of the county in terms of
premium-sharing expense while remaining below the county average in salaries.
“Our goal is to settle the contract as soon as possible
through bargaining,” said Diana Kernop, co-president of the MEA. “We feel that
there are very few issues separating us.”
With fact-finding, either party could put issues back in
play that could block a more easily attainable settlement, she added.
“The district needs to continue to make an investment in
their teachers. We work hard, and we’re a very high-performing district,” she
said.
Kernop cited a pay freeze and delayed salary increases in
the previous two four-year contracts, respectively, as examples of concessions
from teachers that allowed the district to “improve their finances
dramatically.”
She also pointed to the “countless hours” teachers put in
during the restructuring period surrounding the recent closing of Audubon Elementary School
and said for the first time in her 40-year career, she is seeing retention
issues with teachers in the district.
“We want them to respect us and we want them to put
education first, but you can’t put education first if you put teachers last,”
Kernop said.
In a statement included with the release, school board President
Chris Boardman expressed hope that the fact-finding process would help resolve
the labor dispute “in a positive way.”
“We have been negotiating since January, utilized the
support of a state mediator and have tried everything in our power to reach an
agreement that is fair and fiscally responsible. I am hoping that fact-finding
will make this a reality. Also, I hope parents’ minds will be put at ease since
a strike cannot occur during this process,” Boardman said.
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania State Education
Association representative leading the Methacton Education Association in
bargaining submitted a proposal to the district’s chief negotiator on behalf of
the teachers union. The union is waiting to find out whether the district will
consider the proposal or present a counter offer.
Source: Times
Herald
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