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All quiet in the arbitration front
By DAN SOKIL
SOUDERTON - Arbitration continues between the Souderton Area Education Association and the district's school board, but neither side is ready to report any progress.
"Not anything I can disclose," said school district negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik, when asked Friday if the arbitration panel had made any progress.
The school board and the teachers union entered into non-binding arbitration on Oct. 6, and both sides posted their final best offers for 10 days of public comment at the start of the month.
Hearings held by the three-person arbitration panel, headed by arbitrator Rochelle Kaplan, could last for months and will produce a set of recommendations, which will incorporate information taken from both sides best offers, public comments, and testimony heard during the hearings.
"I don't mind being a teacher again, but I wish they'd hurry up and get it done," said SAEA head Bill Lukridge on Friday.
Both the SAEA and the school board must vote on whether or not to accept the recommendations of the arbitration panel within 10 days of their being issued.
"At that point each of us is obligated to vote on whether to accept the recommendations of the arbitrators. If one side or the other votes not to accept those recommendations," said school board president Bernie Currie during a recent public meeting. Currie said, "then everything goes back into play and the whole thing starts over again."
If either side votes to reject those recommendations, a second strike could occur, but it appears that part of the process is still quite some time away.
"Right now we're just waiting for the legal process to get done. They get paid by the hour, though, so I guess they're not in any hurry," Lukridge said.
"Not anything I can disclose," said school district negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik, when asked Friday if the arbitration panel had made any progress.
The school board and the teachers union entered into non-binding arbitration on Oct. 6, and both sides posted their final best offers for 10 days of public comment at the start of the month.
Hearings held by the three-person arbitration panel, headed by arbitrator Rochelle Kaplan, could last for months and will produce a set of recommendations, which will incorporate information taken from both sides best offers, public comments, and testimony heard during the hearings.
"I don't mind being a teacher again, but I wish they'd hurry up and get it done," said SAEA head Bill Lukridge on Friday.
Both the SAEA and the school board must vote on whether or not to accept the recommendations of the arbitration panel within 10 days of their being issued.
"At that point each of us is obligated to vote on whether to accept the recommendations of the arbitrators. If one side or the other votes not to accept those recommendations," said school board president Bernie Currie during a recent public meeting. Currie said, "then everything goes back into play and the whole thing starts over again."
If either side votes to reject those recommendations, a second strike could occur, but it appears that part of the process is still quite some time away.
"Right now we're just waiting for the legal process to get done. They get paid by the hour, though, so I guess they're not in any hurry," Lukridge said.
posted by Online editor at
9:50 AM
4 Comments:
the teachers are way to greedy!!!!
ummm...that would be the wrong use of 'to'. It should be too.
I agree that the teachers should look at the rest of us who are losing our jobs and getting less hours of work while they want more, more. more!! And they have a pension that they get and our 401k goes lower and lower!!
Let us remember that these teachers did not get into this line of work to be part of a union. They are doing this because they enjoy teaching children. And also remember, if you were in a line of work that had a union; you too would use the tools given to increase your pay.
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