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.

BUTLER - Teachers in a western Pennsylvania school district say they'll strike and the district has canceled classes.

Teachers in the 3,000-student South Butler School District say they'll strike Thursday. The contract for the district's 184 teachers expired June 30.

District solicitor Tom King says salaries and health insurance are the major issues. King says the teachers want a 5.9 percent raise and the district is offering 3.2 percent. The average teacher's salary was $51,144 in the 2007-08 school year.

King says he's offered to go to nonbinding arbitration. Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman Bruce Santicola says he hasn't seen the offer.

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By DAN SOKIL

FRANCONIA — Area residents used the recent Souderton Area School Board meeting to speak out about the nonbinding arbitration process between the school board and the Souderton Area Education Association.

"I recently learned that our tax dollars are being used to collect union dues from teachers, which are then remitted back to the union. That seems kind of odd to me," said Mark Strong of Harleysville.

Strong was one of five school district residents asking questions along the same lines: Can the school board negotiate certain things out of the next teachers contract, which replaces one that expired June 30?

"I'm here to specifically ask the board to negotiate out of the contract the collection of compulsory union dues and mandatory deductions," said parent Jill Basile of Harleysville.

Simon Campbell of StopTeacherStrikes.org spoke about typical union tactics at a recent meeting that Basile organized, and her estimate was that at least half a dozen people at the school board meeting had taken Campbell's advice to speak out.

"I'd like to comment about the use of school administration to collect union dues," said James Drummond, also of Harleysville.

"I know it may seem like a small part of their total overhead, but to me this really blurs the line between the public school system and a private union. If non-union teachers must pay dues but are not allowed to vote, that to me really smacks of taxation without representation," Drummond said.

While some brought prepared speeches for the board, others tried to tie their pleas in with topics the board had already discussed.

"I've heard you talk about No Child Left Behind tonight, but what about no child being locked out of school? I really feel that we need to eliminate teacher strikes," Basile said.

Yet the biggest round of applause all night went to Souderton Area High School senior Logan Sutherland, who initially supported the teachers strike but has been very disappointed with teachers who refuse to help run extracurricular activities.

"I'm a college-bound senior whose acceptance depends on the fall and spring plays. Now we either won't have them at all, or they'll be run by a complete stranger," Logan said.

Sutherland also compared the rumors of teachers facing peer pressure to work to their expired contract and not take on supplemental contracts for extracurricular activities, to the peer pressure he and his fellow students face every day.

"I think, of all people, that teachers should be able to handle peer pressure. And unlike the teachers, as students we don't have the freedom to run an activity or not, because the district requires us to have an adult with us," he said.

Teacher Mike Cahill told Logan that he was sorry some activities have been canceled, and answered Campbell's claim that teachers become "mobbed up."

"I've worked in this district for 23 years, and never had any problems with my contract until this board came in. Now, the district's teachers, aides, and secretaries are all working without contracts, and they just can't seem to come to an agreement with this board," Cahill said.

Ernest Rosato of Upper Salford then shared a taxpayer's perspective with Sutherland.

"When you grow up, you're going to pay taxes, and I hope you purchase a home in this district. And if you do, I hope you'll be able to afford the real estate tax that's going to be bestowed upon you."

In response to the public comments, school board President Bernie Currie pointed out that both the school board and the teachers union have already submitted their final best offers to the arbitration panel, and no changes to those offers can be made for quite some time.

"Those subjects can be addressed during future negotiations for future contracts," Currie said. "When these negotiations started, the union's proposal to the district included more than 40 demands, or changes or improvements to the last contract.

"As we began negotiating, we mainly focused on those issues which are of a greater import, rather than overwhelm our negotiating teams with a list of 40 or 50 of our own demands."

Trying to address sticky issues like the collection of union dues this far along in the process could seriously jeopardize the chances of reaching an agreement with the SAEA, which Currie said is the board's top priority.

"The panel will make their recommendations, which most likely will not be 100 percent of either final best offer, and we have no way of knowing what that will look like," Currie said.

"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," he said, "then everything goes back into play and the whole thing starts over again."

Amounts are monthly contributions.
click to enlarge

CLICK HERE to see the SASD schedule of benefits (PDF)
CLICK HERE to see the SASD Aetna HMO plan design (PDF)

By Dan Sokil
Staff Writer

Last month, a group of Souderton Area School District employees were voted raises by the district's school board during its Sept. 25 public meeting.

In response to a "Right to Know" request from The Reporter, the school district has provided the following information on the health benefits those employees received in the 2007-08 school year and will receive in the 2008-09 school year.

Eligible employees from the administrative, professional, custodial, secretarial and food service groups can pick their medical insurance from one of four choices: Green, Red, Blue or Aetna/HMO plans.

Under the Green Plan, for example, 100 percent of in-network and out-of-network charges are paid for by AmeriHealth, the coverage provider, for facility charges, home health care, surgery and anesthesia.

Under the Red Plan, those same costs are covered for 100 percent of cost for services provided by in-network providers, but only 80 percent of cost for out-of-network providers.

Under the Blue Plan, 90 percent of in-network costs and 70 percent of out-of-network costs are covered for those same services.

For services pertaining to mental health or substance abuse issues, 85 percent of expenses are covered under the Green Plan; 80 percent of expenses are covered under the Red Plan and 70 percent are covered under the Blue Plan.

A complete schedule of benefits, as provided by the school district, is available online at www.TheReporterOnline.com.

Of the 32 employees whose benefits were approved at the Sept. 25 meeting, 19 have chosen the Green Plan, nine have chosen the Red Plan, one has chosen the Blue Plan and one has chosen the Aetna Plan. One has chosen no plan and one has not yet started to receive benefits, according to school district data.

By Dan Sokil
Staff writer

The last best offers have been up for 10 days and comments from the public have been collected, but the contract dispute between the Souderton Area Education Association and the district's school board lingers.

"The public comment period did end already, as of Friday it ended, and my guess is that a resolution is still months away," said school district negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik.

Both the SAEA and the school board posted their last best contract offers for public comment at the end of September, but the two parties' dispute has gone quiet since the non-binding arbitration process began on Oct. 5.

"Right now we're just waiting for the arbitrators' reports. We've heard no news, and have nothing to report of any consequence," said SAEA head Bill Lukridge.

That arbitration panel is headed by neutral arbitrator Rochelle Kaplan. Each side has a representative on the three person panel: Donald Atkiss for the SAEA and Mark Fitzgerald for the school district.

"We are not going to be giving any updates as to the progress of the negotiations, at the direction of the neutral arbitrator," said Sultanik.

But while disputes remain between the two parties on teacher salaries, health care benefits, and length of the work day and year, the public will get a chance to speak out again eventually.

"Right now, they're going to tally up these public comments, and see what happens from there," said Lukridge.

"Once the arbitration panel's report comes in, that gets posted and there'll be another 10 days of public comment time then," he said.

Those comments would address the recommendations of the arbitration panel, which both parties will be required by state law to vote on whether to accept.

If either the school board or the teachers union votes against accepting those recommendations, a second strike could occur in early 2009, but neither side is thinking that far ahead yet.

"Right now we're just teaching school, and waiting for that arbitrator's report to come in," Lukridge said.

By: Dan Sokil
Staff writer

TELFORD — It's all about making noise, and anyone who wants to outlaw teachers strikes in Pennsylvania needs to make their voices heard.

Photos by Geoff Patton

"Go get ten or twenty friends, write your local representative a letter," said Simon Campbell, founder of StopTeacherStrikes.org.

"Tell them 'I see you're taking money from the teachers union, and I'm one of your voters, and I'm getting pretty fed up with you,' and see how quickly they get religion," he said.

Campbell spoke to about 65 community members who packed a meeting room in the Indian Valley Public Library Monday night.

Campbell is a Yardley parent who has become an expert on House Bill 1369, legislation that would outlaw teachers strikes in Pennsylvania.

"I was just like Jill, a parent of a child whose teachers went on strike," Campbell said, referring to Souderton Area parent Jill Basile who organized Monday's town-hall style meeting.

"In the fall of 2005, the teachers in my district in Bucks County went on strike," he said. "I didn't

find out about it until I went to pick up my daughter at school on Thursday and one of the teachers told me, 'By the way, we're striking and won't be in school on Monday.'"

Ever since, Campbell has sought to spread the word statewide about House Bill 1369, holding meetings like Monday night's and founding the Web site www.StopTeacherStrikes.org to help spread the word on how to fight teachers unions.

"We believe that public education exists to the benefit of your schoolchildren, not for school teachers. It's not about the union's leverage, it's about the students," Campbell said.

Basile, who suffered through a teachers strike while in high school, said the goal of Monday's meeting was to spread the word about actions citizens can take.

"It started with Simon in Bucks County, and now we're bringing it here into Montgomery County, and we really need a statewide effort to make sure this bill gets passed," Basile said.

After introducing himself and explaining his background, Campbell described some of the tactics he has seen teachers unions use in disputes like the one Souderton Area is currently embroiled in.

"They always tell everyone their salaries are not competitive, and say 'We don't get paid enough,'" Campbell said, "'but when you look into it, there are 37 states that don't allow teacher strikes. What does Pennsylvania know that those 37 states don't?"

The question is not one of knowledge, but of union power over its members and state politicians, Campbell said, and Pennsylvania has one of the strongest state teachers unions in the country.

"They have a big fancy building with lots of posh lobbyists, right across from the state capitol in Harrisburg," Campbell said. "They're not in the business of improving education for students, they're in the business of union dues collection."

Souderton Area is currently involved in non-binding arbitration after a 13-day work stoppage in September, but House Bill 1369 would require that process to begin the April before the previous contract expires, while eliminating the use of binding arbitration.

"They bring in these professional arbitrators, who are unelected people, who say 'Here's what we think, have a vote,' and pass all of those costs on to the school board. To me that is taxation without representation," Campbell said. "If that's the way we want to go, we might as well bring back the Queen of England."

Actions local boards can take to reduce the power of teachers unions include removing union ability to force non-member teachers to pay union dues, and requiring that dues be collected by the unions themselves instead of by school districts, Campbell told the audience.

"There are good teachers out there, and we're not against the ones who are there to educate children. We're against the ones who get mobbed up in their union and believe they can walk off their job and still be allowed to keep their job," he said.

Basile agreed with Campbell's emphasis on getting the word out, saying she only expected 30 people to attend Monday's meeting and more than twice that number were there.

"I think everybody was very interested in what he had to say, and the meeting was very educational, but now it's up to us to keep knocking on that door until we get results," Basile said.

Souderton Area's school board meets this Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the district offices on Lower Road in Souderton, and two board members were present at Monday's meeting.

"Now is the time to blow that whistle, because if this next contract is approved, it'll be three or four years until this comes up again," said school board member Paul Baumgartner.

"You have to be persistent, and stay after it, and come to the school board meetings, and make sure you understand the issue thoroughly," he said.

As a district resident and taxpayer, Basile is planning on doing exactly that.

"I've already told my husband, 'You're watching the kids Thursday night, because I'm going to be there,'" Basile said.

By Dan Sokil
Staff writer

Harleysville resident Jill Basile was a student at Neshaminy High School when that district suffered through a teachers strike.

"It lasted almost three months, it was ridiculous. And ever since then, I've said, 'I hope my kids never have to go through this, and now my daughter is," Basile said.

That's why Basile is organizing a public meeting to discuss House Bill 1369, the Strike-Free Education Act, that would make teacher strikes like the one last month in Souderton Area School District illegal in Pennsylvania.

"I found out about StopTeacherStrikes.org by actually doing some research online myself. They're a local organization that is trying to ban teacher strikes here in Pennsylvania, and they're trying to pass this House bill," Basile said.

Guest speaker Simon Campbell is a parent from Yardley, whose three children were kept out of school for a month by a teachers strike in 2005.

"We've just mobilized into a grassroots organization to try to fight to get the law changed. We've had legislation introduced, and now we're just on a major push to educate other people about it," Campbell said.

That push will reach Souderton Area on Oct. 13, when Campbell will speak at the Indian Valley Public Library, 100 E. Church Ave., Telford.

"What we're trying to do is basically to get people to see that we, as parents and as taxpayers, need to be heard," said Basile.

"We are tired of this school board, we are tired of the teachers union, and we feel the teachers should not be allowed to strike," she said.

The town hall meeting will start at 7 p.m., but seating will be limited.

"I've had an outpouring from support from the community, of people e-mailing me asking, 'What can I do to help you? What do you need me to do?'

"And everybody that I've handed brochures to, or even just told about it, wants more education on this," she said.

Campbell will be ready to answer any and all questions, including how long the Souderton Area strike situation could last.

"The kids are back in school, but the conflict is not settled. They could still go on

strike in a second year, or any future year, so this is definitely an ongoing issue locally," he said.

On his Web site, StopTeacherStrikes.org, Campbell provides information on the current dispute in Souderton Area, as well as one in Saucon Valley outside Bethlehem.

According to Campbell, Pennsylvania is one of only 13 states in which teacher strikes are still legal.

"Right now in Pennsylvania, 112 school districts have expired union contracts, so there is a tremendous amount of strike potential around the state," Campbell said.

"A lot of parents may not even be aware their school is under an expired contract, but the current law says the union can shut down schools on just two days' notice," he said.

That's why Basile says any taxpayer, not just residents of the Souderton Area School District, is welcome at the meeting.

"What about the seniors? It stinks that they're on strike this year, there are some students who couldn't even get their transcripts because they were on strike," Basile said.

"I pay my taxes, so I pay their salaries. You're supposed to be role models, so don't go on strike, and stop setting a bad example for my children," she said.

By Dan Sokil
Staff writer

Ever since teachers in the Souderton Area School District returned to their classrooms in September after walking the picket lines, they've been working under the terms of their previous contract, which expired June 30.
But how much beyond that contract should the teachers be doing? The answer to that question depends on whom you ask.
"We have determined that, depending upon where or what building you are in in the district, that certain activities are not being performed by professional employees in the district," said school district solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik.
Sultanik, also the school board's negotiator in contract talks with the union, said that the high school's student council, literary magazine, photography club, school play and yearbook are among the activities that are not being done by teachers at the high school level.
"At this point I'd say there's a pretty good chance we will not have a homecoming parade, because that requires a lot of advance work by student clubs," said district Superintendent Charles Amuso.
But in order to still be able to offer other activities to students, district administrators and community members are pitching in to help instead, said Amuso.
"We're working to review where we need volunteers from the community," Amuso said, "and we have people, parents and community members, who are stepping forward to offer to help out where we need help."
At Indian Crest Junior High School, Sultanik said it looks like the school play will not go on as scheduled, and Math Counts and yearbook programs have been disrupted.
"At the elementary schools, we've seen different responses, though some teachers have made it known that they will only work their regular contracted work day, and will not work beyond that point," said Sultanik.
And that point, the regular contracted work day is exactly what the Souderton Area Education Association would like defined, said SAEA head Bill Lukridge.
"We're working according to what's in the contract itself, but not doing anything extra. Things like supplemental contracts, or things teachers had just been doing out of the goodness of their hearts, teachers have decided that they don't want to do," he said.
The teachers are no longer striking, but a new contract has not yet been hammered out. Both sides have presented "last best offers."
The SAEA's offer, released to the public last Tuesday, contains an entire page of specifications attempting to spell out additional teacher responsibilities outside the classroom.
"The professional employee shall have the option to work beyond the work day for additional compensation. At no time will an employee be coerced, intimidated or otherwise feel threatened to work outside the normal work day," reads the offer.
The school board's offer states that employees be given two days' notice before scheduled meetings or activities, except in emergency or crisis cases.
"Time to be spent before and after regular school days may include, but not be limited to, faculty meetings, team meetings, department meetings (subject area/grade level), student conferences, parent conferences, 'back to school nights,' meetings focused on curriculum and instructional issues, district curriculum-related activities, meetings to accomplish special tasks or projects, committee meetings, faculty meetings, meetings to deal with emergencies or deal with crises, IEP meetings and team meetings," reads the school board's offer.
"I don't know anybody who has not done an IEP (individualized educational program) meeting, I don't know anybody that has not gone to a faculty meeting," said Lukridge. "We're working exactly according to the job description; things that need to be done are being done."
Sultanik said the district's position is that some of the things not being done by teachers, like missed IEP, committee and faculty meetings, are in fact required job functions.
By not performing those duties, union members may be close to actions that define an illegal strike.
"We believe that those are mandatory obligations of employment," Sultanik said. "We are at the present time considering a number of different options, not the least of which is considering whether employees will be disciplined as a result of not doing their full, faithful and proper performance of their duties of employment."
Is this an attempt to pressure the school board to make a new contract offer? Sultanik thinks so, and Lukridge doesn't deny it.
"We would like to influence the board, and the administrators, to seriously think about concluding with us a contract," Lukridge said.
"We've made an attempt to bargain in good faith since the very beginning, and that's what we'll continue to do," he said.
Some may be delayed, and some activities only offered later in the year look more likely than others, but nevertheless Souderton Area's kids will miss out on some fun activities, like the first ever "Design an Advertisement" contest sponsored by The Reporter.
"I didn't even get a call from the district itself, just from an art teacher who said from her standpoint, the district is not going to be participating," said Advertising Director Shannon Cressman.
Contest entrants from grades 5 through 12 would be eligible to win gift cards worth up to $150, and part of the proceeds from sponsors of the program would benefit The Reporter's Newspapers in Education program, which helps get newspapers into classrooms around the area.
"Teachers don't even have to do anything; I sent packets that all they'd have to do is give to their students," Cressman said.
But in the meantime, Amuso said that even though some district events have already been downsized, others like the Oct. 17 Friday night homecoming bonfire and the next day's Saturday full of homecoming activities have found helpers.
"The bonfire is still on, and all day Saturday, Oct. 18, we'll have our athletic events. All of those are on schedule and will continue," said Amuso.
"There are other additional pay jobs that the teachers have declined to do, and it's certainly their right to do that, but I'm disappointed that it has happened that way, and we're working through it right now," he said.

Neutral arbitrator Rochelle Kaplan, Esq., will hold a conference call Tuesday afternoon with Gary Smith, negotiator for the Souderton Area Education Asscoiation and Jeffrey Sultanik, negotiator for the Souderton Area School District. Kaplan was selected in September by both parties to be the neutral arbitrator in their contract dispute. The contents of the three parties' conversation will be private.

By: Dan Sokil

Now that the Souderton Area Education Association's last best offer has been made public, the contentious issues of teacher salaries, bonuses for doctorates, even the number of work days per school year remain sticking points between the Souderton Area School Board and the district's teachers union.

"It's really the same offer that we've seen from them from the commencement of the bargaining process," said school district negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik.

Posted Tuesday evening, the teachers union's offer proposes a four year contract similar to the contract teachers worked under from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2008. A three year last best offer was made public last week by the school district.

Both sides are looking to change the length of the teachers' work year, specified in the 2004-2008 contract as "a total of 192 work days per school year."

The SAEA's proposal would reduce that number to 188 days per year, while the school board's offer changes that number to 183 days in 2008-09, 195 work days in 2009-10, and 196 work days in 2010-11.

The number of instructional days would remain at 180 per year.

The school board proposes a lengthy offer of performance pay incentives, where an 8 person panel (4 members to be chosen by the union and 4 by the board) would decide how to allocate $150,000 per school year for rewarding teachers.

The performance pay offer can be found on pages 5-7 of the school board's last best offer; the teachers union rejects any performance pay provisions and prefers to maintain the language in the 2004-08 agreement, which does not discuss the matter.

Both sides attempt to address potential teacher obligations beyond classroom teaching in their last best offers. The third page of the teachers union's offer presents a list of meetings and events teachers would need to participate in, while the school board proposes a more general list of possible duties on pages 7-8 of its last best offer.

Each also takes a different approach to raising teacher salaries, which the union has maintained are among the lowest in Montgomery County.

For example, a first year teacher with a bachelor's degree and less than 12 educational credits would have earned

$37,323 in 2007-08 under the contract which expired June 30.

The teachers union's proposal would start teacher salaries at $38,768 in 2008-09, $40,212 in 2009-10, $41,657 in 2010-11 and $43,102 in 2011-12.

Under the school board's proposal, that starting salary would increase to $38,443 in 2008-09's salary schedule, to $39,596 in 2009-10 and to $40,874 in 2010-11.

A teacher who has earned a master's degree would see increases under both offers too. The starting and maximum salary under the expired contract for a teacher with a master's and fewer than 12 educational credits ranged from $41,046 at step one to $83,451 at step 15 for 2007-08.

The teachers union's proposal sees those salaries increase to $43,611 at step one and $86,237 at step 15 in 2008-09, from $46,176 at step one to $89,023 at step 15 in 2009-10, from $48,740 at step one to $91,809 at step 15 in 2010-11 and from $51,305 at step one to $94,505 at step 15 in 2011-12.

Under the school board's offer, that same teacher's salary would start at $41,867 and top out after 15 steps at $84,703 in 2008-09, $42,704 at step one to $85,973 at steps 15 in 2009-10 and $43,558 at step one to $87,263 at step 15 in 2010-11.

The salary schedules from the teachers union's offer remain 15 steps for each of the four years, while the school board's proposal adds a step 15a to the schedule in 2008-09, an additional step 15b to the schedule in 2009-10 and a step 15c to the schedule in 2010-11.

The difference in these steps is clear when one examines the next to last step in each offer, and the "jump," or difference between that step and the final step of each salary schedule.

For example, under the expired contract a teacher with a bachelor's degree only would earn $52,616 on step 14 and $70,275 on step 15, an increase of $17,659 from step 14 to step 15.

The teachers union proposes increasing salaries leading up to step 14 so that the step 14 salary for that teacher with a bachelor's degree starts at $59,083 in 2008-09, $65,549 in 2009-10, $72,016 in 2010-11 and $78,482 in 2011-12.

Under the school board's offer, the step 15a salary for a teacher with a bachelor's would be $55,549 in 2008-09, the step 15b salary would be $58,646 in 2009-10, and the step 15c salary would be $61,916 in 2010-11.

The "max max," or highest salary attainable by a teacher in the district, sees significant increases under both proposals too. Under the expired contract, a teacher with a master's degree, 24 educational credits and 15 years of service would have earned $89,363 in 2007-08.

That "max max" number starts under the teachers union proposal at $92,210 in 2008-09, $95,056 in 2009-10, $97,903 in 2010-11 and $100,750 in 2011-12.

The school board's proposal sees a "max max" of $90,703 in 2008-09, of $92,064 in 2009-10 and of $93,445 in 2010-11.

Under the 2004-08 contract, a teacher who earned a doctorate degree in their area of assignment would be eligible for an additional $2,000 in salary above that "max max," or master's plus 24 credit level.

The teachers union's proposal would raise that increase to $4,000 while the school board's proposal would keep it at $2,000.

Both sides also disagree on how the public can comment on the final best offers.

The school board announced Friday that, in addition to hard copy written comments, those submitted via e-mail would be welcomed at a specially established e-mail address.

However, the SAEA has asked that comments on its offer be made only in hard copy submitted to the district offices at 760 Lower Road in Franconia Township, and not via e-mail until potential security issues are resolved.

"It's not that we don't want people to submit them online, but this is the first time we've done this with electronic availability," said teachers union negotiator Gary Smith.

All submitted comments must include the name and address of a resident of the Souderton Area School District.

"We've been looking at how to make sure the comments from the public are secure and haven't been hacked," Smith said, "but at the moment I don't know what they're going to do as far as the electronic comments are concerned because I haven't had a chance to get in touch with their technology staff on that."

The school board welcomes electronic comments submitted via the e-mail address Arbitration-Comments@soudertonsd.org, said district negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik.

"Technically the union is correct that the law, Act 88 of 1992, does not provide for electronic comments," Sultanik said. "The school district was just doing it to encourage the community to get involved; certainly the 1992 law did not contemplate the electronic communication that it's now so easy to take part in."

By: Evelyn Short

Teachers in the Souderton Area School District have made their final best offer.

"Our negotiating team came up with a last best offer," Bill Lukridge, president of the teachers union, the Souderton Area Education Association, said on Monday night.

Lukridge and the union's negotiating team met late Monday afternoon to discuss the offer and came up with one by Monday evening.

"We did give it to the school board, but we're having the school board not release the info," Lukridge said.

He said there are two issues that need to be cleared up before the union negotiators release their last best offer to the public.

The first is that they need to submit the last best offer to the third neutral arbitrator, however it seems that person has not been confirmed, Lukridge said.

Last week, the district had named the three members of the panel that would arbitrate the dispute between the board and the teachers.

SAEA chose Donald Atkiss as its interest arbitrator, the school district chose Mark Fitzgerald as its interest arbitrator, and both had agreed to name Rochelle Kaplan to be the neutral arbitrator on the three-person panel.

"We were under the understanding that Rochelle Kaplan would be the third arbitrator, but she hasn't responded yet," Lukridge said. "That hasn't been confirmed yet."

The second issue is how public comments are legally allowed to be made, Lukridge said.

The school district has previously said that public comments on last best offers for both sides will be accepted by e-mail and regular mail.

"We have an area of dispute because we're not sure if law allows e-mail comments or only hard copy," Lukridge said.

The district's school board and the SAEA entered into a state mandated arbitration process last week following a 13 day teachers strike.

As part of the arbitration process, both the school board and the teachers union are required by state law to submit final best

contract offers to a panel of three arbitrators named.

Last Thursday night, the school board voted unanimously to approve their final best offer, which was made public and posted on the district Web site www.SoudertonSD.org on Friday.

"I am hopefully expecting that the union will have its last best offer in our hands by the end of the day," school board negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik said Monday afternoon.

Sultanik did not expect the union's final best offer to differ significantly from their previous offer at the bargaining table, at least in the contentious areas of teacher salaries and health care benefits.

Lukridge said Monday night that their side is not commenting about what was contained in their last best offer until it is released to the public.

According to Sultanik, the arbitration process began when the teachers returned to work on Friday, Sept. 19, and the 10-day period allowed to both sides to make their final best offers expired Monday.

Union negotiator Gary Smith last week disputed Sultanik's timeline of events, but Sultanik indicated Monday that their argument had been resolved.

"I have been in e-mail contact with Mr. Smith starting on Sunday as to how we concluded when their last best offer was due. He had some misunderstanding of the requirements, but he at least intimated to me that we will be getting something today," Sultanik said, referring to Monday.

Once both sides' offers are officially received by the arbitration panel, they will be posted online and a 10-day public comment period will commence.

The school district has said that comments on either offer can be sent via e-mail to ArbitrationComments@soudertonsd.org or by mail to the school district's offices at 760 Lower Road, Souderton, PA 18964.

All comments must be in writing and contain the name and address of a resident of the Souderton Area School District.

Comments will be collated by the district and will be provided to the arbitration panel once the 10-day public comment period has ended.