SASD Strike News

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It's all over!

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:55:00 +0000

FRANCONIA — The Souderton teachers union accepted the nonbinding arbitration report Friday, thus agreeing to a four-year contract and effectively removing the threat of another strike.

The news arrived on the heels of developments Thursday, when the Souderton Area School Board voted unanimously to accept the arbitration report.

CLICK HERE to see the arbitration report (PDF document)

Bill Lukridge, president of the Souderton Area Education Association, read a statement after a meeting Friday at Indian Crest Junior High School, where the teachers voted.

“The findings place Souderton closer in line with settlements in the surrounding area, so that we can be more attractive to the best and brightest teaching prospects and help stop the exodus of teachers leaving the district,” Lukridge said.

According to the agreement, teachers will receive gross salary increases at varying percentages per year, beginning with a 3.7 increase for the current 2008-09 school year.

The remaining salary schedule for the next three years reads as follows: 2009-10, 4.6 percent increase; 2010-11, 4.5 percent; and 2011-12, 4.3 percent.

During last year’s negotiations, the school district had offered teachers salary increases of 2.5 percent per year over three years. Lukridge said of that offer at the time that Souderton teachers would still be the lowest paid teachers in Montgomery County.

On Friday, he said, “The report recognizes that inequities in the current salary schedule needed to be fixed and that the teachers’ health insurance plan needed to be improved.” He said that since the union and the district aren’t in agreement with each recommendation in the report, “the final product is one of compromise.”

“We now have a contract,” Lukridge said.

Superintendent Charles Amuso and school board President Bernard Currie released a joint statement Friday right after the teachers meeting.

Regarding the health care insurance, Amuso said the arbitration panel “crafted a solution that reflects the dramatic increase in insurance premium costs, as well as reductions in benefits experienced by the taxpayers.”

According to Amuso, the panel recommended reducing the number of health care plans to two, and using a program similar to surrounding districts.

“The arbitrators required that teachers pay a slightly higher percentage of premiums each year, similar to what was sought by the board,” he said. “There will also be an increase in lifetime maximum to $3 million.”

“The annual net cost percentages are in line with the expectations of a majority of taxpayers in the district,” Currie said. “That has been the target for the board from the beginning.”

Currie said that he was saddened by “the damage to our children’s education this year.” In addition, he said he’s concerned “about the damage to the reputation of the teachers.”

“We have a corps of very dedicated, professional teachers, the envy of other districts,” he said.

Currie said he was precluded from addressing this issue during the negotiations due to Pennsylvania labor laws.

“But now I can tell you that we have great teachers, professionals that we value highly,” he said. “Sadly, they have been mislead, and perhaps bullied, by their negotiator and a few members of the union.”

He said the agreement “is just for all parties.”

School Board says yes to report

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:25:00 +0000

FRANCONIA — The school board said yes, and now it’s all up to the teachers.

By a unanimous 9-0 vote, the Souderton Area School Board voted Thursday night to accept the nonbinding arbitration report that could bring an end to the district’s nearly year-long contract dispute.

“We’re not going to ask for comment on tonight’s resolution, because the teachers’ union has yet to vote on this,” said school board President Bernie Currie.

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

“As soon as we know how the other side has voted, and that all of the legal requirements have been fulfilled, more information (on the report’s content) will be available,” Currie said.

That vote is expected to come Friday afternoon, during a general membership meeting of the Souderton Area Education Association.

“The ball’s in their court now,” district solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik said Thursday.

Agreements were reached between the district and the aides and secretaries’ unions earlier this month, but Currie said Thursday those deals did not affect the vote on the arbitration report.

“They were pretty much separate issues; both of those contracts kind of stood on their own,” he said.

The secretaries and aides ultimately did not strike.

The district and teachers union agreed to enter a nonbinding arbitration process in September 2008, after a 15-day strike by the teachers.

At that time, the three person arbitration panel was named, consisting of one interest arbitrator on behalf of each side and one neutral arbitrator.

Although details of the report won’t be made public until after the teachers vote today, one resident applauded the board’s vote Thursday.

“I’d just like to thank the current school board for continuing to be steadfast, in keeping not only the interests of taxpayers, but the interests of children, the interests of teachers, the interests of everyone in the community in their hearts,” said Souderton resident Charl Wellener.

“They’ve been up against a multimillion dollar union who will continue to throw children out on the streets, and hold taxpayers hostage to get what they think is fair, so I’d like to thank the board. We don’t know what the number is yet, but I hope it’s something we can afford,” she said.

Arbitration report is in

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:28:00 +0000

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.

Aides, secretaries reach agreement

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:25:00 +0000

Photo by Geoff Patton

By Tony Di Domizio, staff Writer

FRANCONIA — In 15 minutes, and with no public comment in a packed-full room Tuesday evening, the Souderton Area School Board rejected the fact finding recommendations for both the secretaries’ and teacher’s aides unions.

Instead, the board voted unanimously to authorize a tentative agreement approving the fact finding report for the Souderton Area Secretaries’ Association, with exceptions.

The board also voted 8-1 to authorize a tentative agreement approving the fact finding report for the Souderton Area Educational Support Personnel Association, with exceptions.

Board member R. Bud Miller abstained from the vote due to his wife’s role as a part-time teacher’s aide.

Solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik was absent from the meeting.

There were no copies of the fact finding report available to the public, and the members of the secretaries’ union did not receive copies of the report until two hours prior to the meeting.

Donna Mountney, head of the secretaries’ union, said the majority of the 48 members of the union voted to approve the fact finder report prior to the public meeting.

“The membership voted tonight and the membership got it (the report) today,” she said. “We are pret

ty much at an agreement.”

Mountney would not confirm that the agreement is a two-year contract. She said the union has “pretty much agreed upon” the language in the report.

“All in all, we have reached an agreement,” she said.

It is unknown if the teacher’s aides union voted on the agreement.

Under state law, both parties have until April 9 to inform the school board of its acceptance or rejection of the report.

The board met in an executive session for 15 minutes prior to the 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday to discuss the report. The board also met in an executive session to discuss the report for 70 minutes on April 1.

Dr. Charles Amuso, superintendent for the district, said Tuesday night that the board received a fact finding report for each union on March 30 from a fact finder who heard a discussion about the two negotiating processes.

Under state law, the board and the unions have until April 9 to accept or reject the report.

The board and administration reviewed the report and the administration recommended the board reject the fact finding recommendation for the secretaries’ association, and authorize a tentative agreement approving the fact finding report with the following exception: “Class II and IV non-grandfathered employees and Class IV — ‘me, too’ provision tied to the Souderton Educational Support Personnel Association Contract.”

Another exception struck “more than” from the fact finder recommendation: “In addition, those ten-month bargaining unit employees who work more than seven or more hours per day shall be entitled to participate in the lowest cost teachers’ health care plan for single employee benefits provided that they contribute 10 percent of the health care premium effective July 1, 2009.”

The board recommended to reject the fact finding recommendation for the Souderton Educational Support Personnel Association and authorize a tentative agreement approving the fact finding report with the following exception, which struck “more than” from the language: “Those Bargaining Unit Employees who work more than seven or more hours per day and at least 170 days per school year shall be entitled to participate in the lowest cost teachers’ health care plan for single employee benefits provided that the employees contribute 10 percent of health care premium effective July 1, 2009.”

Both tentative agreements are in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement draft that will be subject to final wording adjustments as recommended by the administration and solicitor.

Amuso said the fact finder’s recommendation was rejected because it cannot be changed if something isn’t agreed upon.

“The fact finding report is what it is,” he said. “It can’t be changed. You can’t partially accept a report.”

He said in this case, the board rejected the report and authorized an agreement with the union.

“We will try to reach a settlement as a result,” Amuso said.

Board president Bernard Currie was mum on the report and the decision of the board. At the beginning of the meeting, Currie referred to the Tuesday night special meeting as a “special occasion.”

“The board voted to authorize a tentative agreement, and I can’t discuss it because the other parties have not voted. Give us 24 to 48 hours.”

The unions still had to officially notify the school board of their votes.

Currie said health care was reflected in the report, and that some union members had the same health care benefits as others and some did not.

“Health care was in the report and it is stated differently, and is not exactly what we really want to happen,” he said. “I’m really not at liberty to discuss details. It’s not fair to the other parties who will read it in the newspaper or hear it on the radio and then go to a meeting.”

Popular Sound Off

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:41:00 +0000

The Sound off item, "Time for teachers to pay" has resulted in many responses. CLICK HERE to see the item and the nearly 50 responses.

Senior citizen prom canceled

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:30:00 +0000

The popular annual senior citizen prom, which is staged annually by students and staff at Indian Crest Junior High School, was canceled due to the ongoing SASD contract situation. To read this story, CLICK HERE.

Board approved coaching contracts

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:24:00 +0000

The Souderton Area School Board approved contracts for spring coaching jobs at the high school and junior high school. To see the list of approved salaries, and the reader reaction, CLICK HERE.

Commentary...A few facts

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Telford resident Hugh C. Donnelly wrote a commentary, and many readers responded. CLICK HERE to read 'A look at facts in Souderton Area' and the responses.

A loss of faith?

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:04:00 +0000

By: Dan Sokil

SOUDERTON — As an arbitration panel continues working on the contract dispute between the Souderton Area School District and the teachers union, there's talk of people having lost their faith in the system.

Whether it's the administration or the teachers leading some people to profess a crisis of confidence depends on which side of the system they stand.

Such a divide was made clear Thursday at a meeting of the Souderton Area School Board.

During public comment, Ken Hamilton, a high school science teacher, said that he's lost faith in the administration's "commitment to our real clients, our students."

"I have invested my time in this community, while you the taxpayer have invested in me," Hamilton said. The district, he added, appears willing to let he and his fellow teachers "join that revolving door and move away."

"Is that what you want from your investment in me?" he said.

The next speaker, Souderton resident Charl Wellener, offered a reply to Hamilton's rhetorical question.

"If you're unhappy leave, and take all the unhappy teachers with you and find another district," Wellener said.

"I have lost faith in a lot of the teachers in this district," she continued. "I see teachers not negotiating in fairness, I see them negotiating out of greed."

Janet Smith, a teacher at Salford Hills Elementary School, said she wanted to dispel the idea that it would be easy to replace so many teachers.

"We are not a dime a dozen," Smith said. "We are your neighbors. We have a vested interest that our schools be filled with quality professionals."

Smith said she received a master's degree as a reading specialist not to earn a higher salary, but to better help her students.

"We care about this school district; we care about these students," she said.

Heather Williams, who also teaches at Salford Hill, said "a fair and comparable contract" would keep high quality teachers from leaving Souderton to go work for higher pay in other school districts.

Bernard Currie, school board president, said the administration and the teachers union are waiting to hear back from their respective arbitrators who will make recommendations to both parties after a period of fact finding.

Commentary: A look at Souderton facts

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:27:00 +0000

By: Hugh C. Donnelly

I feel the need to add another, hopefully objective perspective to the labor situation in the Souderton Area School District.

Much has appeared in the press and much has been said, primarily by teachers at recent school board meetings. Let's take a look at the facts.

We have a teachers union demanding an 8.25 percent salary increase per year, claiming Souderton Area teachers have the lowest starting salary in Montgomery County.

The facts are some years ago, the union negotiators were given the freedom to apply a lump sum approved by the school board to a complicated salary matrix.

In doing so, the union leadership applied a disproportionate amount of the available sum to the most senior salary brackets, leaving a pittance for the junior teachers.

Therefore it was the teachers union that purposely caused the low pay for starting teachers while at the same time jumping pay for the most senior teachers 15 to 20 percent.

Both publicly at school board meetings and in the press, teachers have stated the school board is demeaning to their status as hard-working, dedicated professionals.

Don't shoot the messenger; no member of the board has ever made derogatory statements about teachers either as an individual or as a group.

However the law of supply and demand has plenty to say about the teachers union salary demands. Simply put, the supply of teachers far exceeds the demand. With the exception of hard-to-recruit disciplines such as math, physics, chemistry and speech therapy, every school district in Pennsylvania, especially eastern Pennsylvania, is awash with hundreds of qualified teachers looking for positions.

Take a look in the job wanted section of the newspapers and you will never find ads for teachers in public school except for the hard-to-recruit disciplines. Teachers demean themselves and lose credibility by ignoring this while continuing to clamor for higher salaries.

Teacher comments with respect to board President Bernard Currie are entirely out of line. Currie is professional, balanced, factual and totally devoid of rhetoric or personal comments. It is a sad commentary on the professionalism of some teachers that would personally attack a messenger of truth.

Stay the course, Currie, the community is behind you.

Currently, we have a teachers union pushing for more salary and better benefits based on comparisons with other school districts in Montgomery County.

The facts are that the Souderton Area School District teacher salaries rank 55 out of the 501 school districts in Pennsylvania. Granted, Montgomery County and the other southeastern counties have higher salaries than most of Pennsylvania. The fact remains, however, that teacher salaries generally are artificially high only because of a powerful union that focuses on inflating teacher salaries by sacrificing the education of our students.

Thus we have a trade union mentality that takes our public school system hostage by throwing our students out on the street, all the while claiming our teachers are underpaid relative to other school districts. Given the law of supply and demand, it is clear the other school districts have allowed a bully union to force their school boards into paying excessive teacher salaries. Bravo to the Souderton Area School Board for holding the line.

The teachers unions in Pennsylvania clearly have lost the right to strike as a means to gain economic benefit for union members. Bravo to Rep. Robert Godshall for going on record as opposing the right of teachers to strike, as is true in 37 other states.

The Souderton Area teachers walked out on their students when the school board refused a salary demand of 8.25 percent each year for four years, or a salary increase of more than 35 percent. Surely this strike is a poster child reason to eliminate teacher strikes in Pennsylvania.

Finally, although allegedly returning to work, many of the teachers are refusing to carry out their full professional duties by denying students their extracurricular educational programs and clubs.

Again, the teachers that carry out this unprofessional, demeaning conduct are rapidly losing the respect of their students, parents and the community.

Has anyone seen a teaching profession code of ethics? If there is one, it is being violated. If one does not exist, it is time for the teaching profession to establish and follow a code of ethics before claiming they are professionals.

Hugh C. Donnelly is a resident of Telford. This commentary appeared on the opinion page of The Reporter February 25, 2009.

CLICK HERE to see the original story and comments at TheReporterOnline.com

Sound Off comments

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:16:00 +0000

A Sound Off comment about early dismissal days for students and teachers sparked a spirited discussion in the online comments section. CLICK HERE to read the Sound Off and comments.

New year, no progress

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:39:00 +0000

By DAN SOKIL

A new year may have brought with it a new presidency, but not much has changed in the ongoing contract dispute between the Souderton Area School District and the district's teachers union.

Both Bill Lukridge and Jeffrey Sultanik, head of the teachers union and district solicitor, respectively, agree the new year has not brought any progress toward a new bargaining agreement between both parties.

"Right now there's nothing to report, but once there is, we'll be sure to let everybody know," Lukridge said.

The district and teachers union have been in nonbinding arbitration since September, after a 15-day strike at the start of the 2008-09 school year.

The three-person arbitration panel, consisting of one neutral arbitrator and one representing each side, is required by state law to issue a set of recommendations to both parties after a period of fact finding.

At this point, according to Sultanik, no timeline has been announced by the panel, so the dispute still remains in a holding pattern.

Fortunately for some students, one potential problem was avoided last week, and the high school Jazz Ensemble will finish its 2008-09 season.

The jazz band controversy began after the ensemble's winter concert on Dec. 12, when Jazz Band Director Adam Tucker sent a letter to

parents in early January outlining a potential work stoppage if no new contract agreement was reached by February.

"I have spoken with my music department colleagues and we believe, due to the lack of movement from the board of directors, all after-school activities that correspond with our school day music classes should cease to occur until a settlement is negotiated," reads the letter.

Fortunately for the young musicians, it seems Tucker has changed his tune: his $1,560 supplemental contract to direct the Jazz Band for 2008-09 was approved by the school board on Jan. 22.

"Adam Tucker, the Jazz Band director, has agreed to continue the Jazz Band season without interruption. He has agreed to the supplemental contract for that position," said district Superintendent Charles Amuso.

That news came as a relief to Dennis Chaney, father of four Souderton Area students, including two in the high school.

"I just think the entire process that the teachers are putting these kids through it atrocious. It is unbelievable the amount of pressure they're putting on the children at this point in time, when they're unable to even voice an opinion on the strike situation without teachers getting irritated and upset," Chaney said.

In Souderton Area, the secretaries and aides also have been working without a contract all year.

Teachers and the school board of the neighboring North Penn School District are trying to avoid that kind of situation Souderton Area has experienced, according to district Director of Business Administration Michael Frist.

"Those talks were started in October, and we've had several meetings already that have been very fruitful, and so we're continuing that process," said Frist.

The district's contract with the North Penn Education Association expires on Aug. 30, but Frist said both sides are well ahead of the state-mandated timeline, which would have required discussions to begin by Jan. 10.

"Obviously, we've seen what has happened in the Souderton Area School District, and that's the reason that we and the teachers association both agreed that we wanted to sit down and talk early," Frist said.

Calls to Gary Smith, Pennsylvania State Education Association representative for the Souderton Area School District, and to Alan Malachowski, President of the North Penn Education Association, were not returned by press time.

NPSD imposes a salary freeze

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:37:00 +0000

By: David Hare

LANSDALE — At a meeting of the North Penn School Board on Thursday, president Vincent Sherpinsky announced administrative salaries for the 2010-11 school year will be frozen at current levels. The decision is in direct response to a dismal national economy and its impact on the school district and the state, Sherpinsky said.

“No one saw this coming this bad, this fast,” he said. “Frankly, it’s pretty scary.”

The salary freeze will save the school district about $300,000 next year, he added.

For the current school year, 60 administrators received raises totaling $6.4 million, according to school district records. Last year, raises totaled $6.2 million for 61 administrators.

At Thursday’s meeting, board member Joseph Walsh praised the administration for “sacrificing” salary increases “in these tough times.”

Sherpinsky concurred, saying, “these are difficult timers for all of us. We hope to communicate a positive message from this action.”

Still, with the recent news out of Harrisburg that the state’s 2008-09 budget deficit is likely to hit $1.9 billion by the end of the fiscal year June 30, Sherpinsky made no attempt to soften the impact.

“There are no sacred cows here. Everything and anything needs to be put on the table for discussion so we can take a hard look at balancing our costs,” he said. “This goes from the bottom to the top. I don’t care who you are, you could be effected.”

This weighing of “cost versus value,” he said, will likely result in “cutting back, eliminating or postponing” expenditures on school programs, jobs, or both.

In about two weeks all 501 school districts in Pennsylvania should know how much money they can expect next year from the state. Sherpinsky said he was praying North Penn’s cut is “in the black.”

“Even if what we get from the state is flat or the same as last year, we’re still in trouble,” he said.

Commentary: SASD teachers must wake up

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:34:00 +0000

CLICK HERE to read a commentary by Souderton resident Charl Wellener.

Superintendent pay

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Souderton Area School District Superintendent Charles Amuso and Assistant to the Superintendent R. Bradley Clemens each saw their pay increase by 4 percent in 2008-09, according to information released by Brenda Jones Bray, director of business affairs for the school district.

Amuso (left) at a school board meeting. Reporter file photo

Amuso’s contract was approved on Nov. 23, 2004, and runs from Feb. 9, 2005, through June 30, 2009. His 2008-09 salary increased to $163,105 as of July, 1, 2008, a 4 percent increase from his 2007-08 salary of $156,832.

Clemens’ contract was approved on Aug. 9, 2007, and runs from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2012. His 2008-09 salary increased to $140,400 as of July 1, 2008, a 4 percent increase from his 2007-08 salary of $135,000.

Salary increases for the rest of Souderton Area’s district officials were approved by the district school board at monthly meetings in 2008.

Both Amuso and Clemens’ pay increases, however, are based on their annual evaluations and terms of their contracts, so annual board approval is not required, according to Bray.

Amuso’s 2007-08 evaluation was completed in November 2008 and Clemens’ was completed in October 2008.

Both earn a contribution to a 403(b) plan based on those performance evaluations; Amuso’s contribution for 2007-08 was $6,000 and Clemens’ was $5,000, according to Bray.

Meeting canceled

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:23:00 +0000

The Souderton Area SD special school board meeting scheduled for Tuesday January 13 was canceled. No make-up date has been announced.

Teachers walk out of meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:36:00 +0000

By: Dan Sokil

FRANCONIA TWP — Thursday night’s Souderton Area school board meeting ended early and abruptly, as a large and loud contingent of district teachers walked out on board president Bernie Currie.

“I’m kind of disappointed that we’ve provided them with this opportunity to address the board, but when faced with something they don’t want to hear they walk out,” Currie said after the meeting.

The walkout occurred as Currie tried to address comments made by several of the teachers regarding the current contract negotiations between the school board and the district teachers’ union.

“I think it’s important to put some balance into some of the statements we’ve heard,” Currie said. “One of the continuing refrains we’ve heard from the beginning of the negotiations was that Souderton Area’s teachers are paid the lowest starting salary in Montgomery County. That’s one fact, but there are other parts of the story that have never been stated or told.”

Two contracts ago, a previous school board agreed to offer a certain pool of money to district teachers in order to reach a settlement, Currie said, which the leadership of the teachers’ union then decided how to allocate.

“The leadership of the union saw it as their prerogative to rearrange the salary schedule, and took some $1,000 per year for each of three years from the starting salaries and added it to other steps of the columns where some of the negotiators then stood,” Currie said.

“So while all of these rocks are being thrown at the school board, it was the teachers who did that at the time,” he said, before one teacher rose to leave the meeting and the rest followed.

Several of the teachers had previously spoken during the meeting’s public comment portion, largely emphasizing their worries over the future of their own children.

“One of the many reasons I decided to stay within the Souderton school district and teach here was to raise a family. I have three children, so I’m looking forward to sixteen years of quality education in the district,” said Indian Valley Middle School science teacher Jen Odenwald.

“The other day, I noticed a wonderful substitute teacher, who I approached because he seemed really organized, enthusiastic, and really got through to the kids,” Odenwald continued. “Within a minute and a half of conversation, I found out he has absolutely no interest in teaching full time for the Souderton Area School District because of this situation.”

Oak Ridge Elementary School third-grade teacher Ross Pollack said he was “scared to death” about the direction the district is going, and that he worried only poor quality teachers will be left by the time his 1-year old daughter attends school.

“Souderton’s mission statement says part of our job is to prepare students to compete in a challenging world, but if Souderton can’t compete with the teacher salaries in the county, how can they prepare students for that challenging world?” Pollack said.

Each of the teachers’ comments received sustained applause from their fellow educators, whereas resident Charl Wellener was met with silence after asking why teachers equate dedication with higher salaries.

“In the current economic situation, I still find it appalling that the teachers continue to want what they want ,” she said.

But it was high school senior Shelby Kay-Fantozzi who made the most emotional comments of the night, describing the morale of her fellow high school students.

“Many students are angry or stressed, and naturally are going to take their feelings out on each other,” Kay-Fantozzi said. “I am afraid of walking into my high school every day. I fear angry students, that fear is very real to me, but you don’t live my reality. None of you walk the halls of that school every day, and how many more brilliant minds are you willing to break?

“The student body needs help. We’re very tired of being stuck in the middle. Please end this now before things get even worse,” she said.

SASD to appoint 'right-to-know' officer

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:48:00 +0000

By DAN SOKIL

FRANCONIA — The Souderton Area School District will soon be appointing a Right to Know Officer, thanks to a state law that takes effect at the start of 2009.

"The governor and state Legislature passed a Right to Know law that will take effect on Jan. 1 of 2009, and all public agencies, including school districts, will be required to comply with the new law," said school board member Victor Verbeke.

The new Right to Know officer will be required by law to fulfill four functions, said Verbeke:

- To receive Right to Know requests submitted to the district.

- To direct those requests to appropriate people within the district.

- Track the district's progress in responding to those requests.

- Issue responses, both interim and final, to those requests.

"We could be here all night if we go through all of the new policies," said Frank Gallagher, district director of pupil services/ special services.

Some of those duties would also include creating a Right to Know request form, updating the district Web site with regard to policy and procedures, and fielding and monitoring those requests, Gallagher said.

"We do a lot of these things now, so we're in really good shape," he said. "It's really somewhat procedural, but we believe we're ready to move forward. This is the first reading, and we'll go from there," he said.

A formal approval of the policy, and appointment of the new Right to Know officer, is expected at the school board's Dec. 18 meeting.

Teachers speak out

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:28:00 +0000

By DAN SOKIL

FRANCONIA — Some of the Souderton Area School District's teachers made sure the school board heard their voices Tuesday night.

"I'm here tonight to share some sad news with the board," said Alison Moran, a speech and language clinician at the district's West Broad Street Elementary School.

Moran described for the board how the district's speech therapy department had grown into a cohesive unit respected by neighboring districts, until this year's contract dispute between the school board and district teachers.

"As of last week, three of the speech therapists (one at EMC, one at Vernfield and one at Oak Ridge) have handed in their resignations. All are highly skilled ladies who have worked in this district for at least seven years each," said Moran.

One left for the Upper Perkiomen School District because their contract emphasizes the respect that district has for its teachers, Moran said, while the other two will get hefty raises in the Upper Dublin School District.

"What really saddens me is that most of the board members, and the public, never really appreciate the difference a good speech therapist can make, and what we just lost," said Moran.

District Superintendent Charles Amuso told Moran that the hiring process has already begun for one replacement speech therapist, and solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik pointed out that the district is facing several competitors for them.

"In a market-based economy, it's an issue of supply versus demand," said Sultanik. "There's a huge demand for speech therapists but right now we have, for example, a huge supply of high quality elementary school teachers instead."

Sultanik also indicated that the board would be open to negotiating separately with the speech therapists, apart from the nonbinding arbitration process the district and teachers union are currently engaged in.

"This board is prepared, right now, to sit down and negotiate with you a separate compensation scale for speech therapists in this district," Sultanik said.

"It's not unheard of to have different classifications for different skills levels," he said, "because it's an issue of supply and demand and different skill sets. We're open to the concept."

However, Sultanik also said, even if the district accepted the last best contract offer from the teachers union, that still would not solve the speech therapist problem.

"We need to address this in a different way, and in a creative way that's consistent with the market and the larger economy," he said.

Chris Luck, a physics and chemistry teacher at the high school, then told a story similar to Moran's about his science department.

"In 2000 I was hired with 11 other teachers, and now I'm the only one left. I've seen three new chemistry teachers brought in for the same position in the last four years," said Luck.

He estimated that offers from neighboring districts could have made him $40,000 wealthier at his current experience level, and $70,000 wealthier by the time he would reach the top step of their salary scales instead of Souderton's.

"I've seen three teachers with a combined 50 years of experience leave in the last month, and I can tell you, if you walk down those halls just about every teacher is actively looking at jobs in other districts," Luck said.

"It would be a shame if we had a shiny new high school building and no experienced teachers to fill it, because that building is just walls. The teachers are where education comes from," he said.

Salary hikes approved

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:41:00 +0000

By DAN SOKIL
Staff Writer

The Souderton Area School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to raise the salaries of five of the district’s cabinet secretaries.
Each of the following increases is effective as of July 1, 2008:

- Brenda J. Bray, director of business affairs: 2007-08 salary $117,800; 2008-09 salary $120,863 (2.6 percent increase)

- Frank Gallagher, director of pupil services/special services: 2007-08 salary $116,715; 2008-09 salary $119,680 (2.54 percent increase);

- Gail Ryan, director of elementary education: 2007-08 salary $114,258; 2008-09 salary $116,886 (2.30 percent increase);

- Jack Silva, director of secondary education: 2007-08 salary $114,258; 2008-09 salary $117,160 (2.54 percent increase);

- Karen Berk, director of special education: 2007-08 salary $110,215; 2008-09 salary $112,992 (2.52 percent increase).

The board members did not discuss the raises prior to their vote Tuesday.
Bradley Clemens, assistant to the superintendent and director of human resources, gave reporters the above salary information after the meeting was adjourned.

All quiet in the arbitration front

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:50:00 +0000

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.

Western PA teachers vote to strike

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:10:00 +0000

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.

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:19:00 +0000

Our web site changed recently, but our committment to bringing you the latest and best news from the Souderton Area School District labor negotiating process hasn't changed.

All the SASD strike-related stories, links, photos and videos will appear on this blog, which you can find a link to on TheReporterOnline.com home page and blog page.

What about the comments?

The popular comments section has moved. All the comments made before Monday, October 21 can be found HERE.

Readers can make new comments at the new comments page (another link appears on the right-hand side menu of the blog):

CLICK HERE to enter the SASD Strike News comments page.

In addition, reader comments can be left on any story in this blog. Note that The Reporter does not edit any reader comments. Comments containing obscene or suggestive language, or libelous material may be rejected outright.

Residents speak up at meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Online editor) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:43:00 +0000

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."