By DAN SOKIL

Start the clocks — the nonbinding arbitration panel has submitted its report to the Souderton Area School Board and the district's Education Association.

"As of this moment, the district does have the confidential nonbinding arbitration award issued by the tripartite arbitration panel," district solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik said Friday afternoon.

Receiving the report means each side now has 10 days to vote on whether or not to accept the report, which presents the findings of the three-person panel established in September 2008.

"Under Pennsylvania law, the report is confidential until both parties vote on the report. The school board will be voting on the report at its meeting next Thursday, its regularly scheduled school board meeting Thursday night," Sultanik said.

That meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the district offices, located at 760 Lower Road in Franconia Township.

SAEA President Bill Lukridge said Friday that the teachers had not yet received the report, but have scheduled a membership meeting for Friday, April 24, to vote on whether to accept.

"We'll all have to take a look at this report and see what's happening. When we get a hold of this thing, we'll take a look, and then see what happens," Lukridge said.

Once both parties receive the report, they'll have to vote within no less than five but no more than 10 days on whether or not to accept the panel's recommendations; after those votes, the content of the report may be made public.

"There will be an official publication of the report, that will be issued once the 10-day period is up; the first 10-day period," Sultanik said.

"For example, if the school board votes next Thursday, and the union votes Friday, the report could be released as soon as Saturday," he said.

The process could bring to an end the contract dispute that began last summer, when the contracts for the district's teachers, secretaries and aides expired on June 30.

Agreements were reached between the district and the aides and secretaries' unions earlier this month; the district and teachers union agreed to enter a nonbinding arbitration process in September 2008, after a 15-day strike by the teachers.

The secretaries and aides did not strike.

Now, if both parties vote within the next 10 days to accept the arbitration panel's report, the teachers and district will have a binding contract of their own, Sultanik said.

"If one party rejects the report, the party rejecting would need to vote again within 10 days; if, let's say, the board votes yes and the teachers vote no, the board would not have to vote again," he said.

The district's negotiating team will meet to review the report Monday morning, and the entire school board will discuss it Tuesday in an executive session, Sultanik said.

On Thursday, the school board will give official notification that the executive session was held, according to Sultanik.

The teachers, meanwhile, will vote Friday afternoon after a general membership meeting, and Lukridge said he expects what he called the "Sultanik propaganda machine" to release details of the report soon after.

"Our membership meeting won't be open to the public," Lukridge said, "but all of what's in that report is going to come out anyway."

Meanwhile, contract talks in the North Penn School District are still in progress to update the teachers contract that expires Aug. 30, and the district and North Penn Education Association will be meeting again next week, said Mike Frist, North Penn's director of Business Administration.

"We're still just very early on in the process, and so far everything's quiet, knock on wood," Frist said.

Alan Malachowski, head of the North Penn Education Association, said an "early bird" discussion process last fall helped set a positive tone for the negotiations between NPEA and NPSD.

"We felt that really produced a good dialogue. We had some good discussions, and we felt that really opened the door to talk, and both sides agreed to keep talking," Malachowski said.

The NPEA's initial proposal was made at the two sides' last meeting, he said, and he hopes the district will counter with a proposal next week.

"The talks have been very amicable so far, and we certainly look forward for that to continue; there is definitely a desire to keep talking," he said.