Press release from the Souderton Area School District: Tuesday August 26, 2008
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUDERTON
SCHOOL BOARD ATTEMPTS TO NEGOTIATE A “CONTRACT FOR ACCOUNTABILITY” WITH
TEACHERS
THAT
NEXT SESSION COULD YIELD PROGRESS
AUGUST
26, 2008…Committed to negotiating a contract which is consistent with what is
fair to the community it serves, the Souderton Area School Board’s Negotiating
Committee met with the Souderton Area Education Association, the union which
represents the district’s teachers, for five and one-half hours on Monday to discuss proposals.
“We
call our proposal a ‘Contract for Accountability’ because we feel that the
community would expect us to develop a plan which is accountable to teachers,
students and taxpayers, all taxpayers. We believe our current proposal
accomplishes this,” explained Bernie Currie, School Board President.
The
School Board’s Proposal at a Glance
Highlights
of the School Board’s five-year offer include the following:
SALARY:
The teachers
union seeks 9.5% each year for five years, nearly a 50% increase in salary. The School
Board counter-offered with a salary increase of more than 2% per year, a figure
that is consistent with the district’s taxpayers’ experience over the last
three years.
The
School Board is proposing a performance-based pay plan – a true measure of
accountability in the private sector. The teachers union rejects this proposal.
BENEFITS:
Teachers
have received the same healthcare plan for the past 15 years, with no changes
in co-pays, deductibles, or premium sharing.
This is virtually unheard of. The
School Board is trying to lessen the burden of this plan on taxpayers by
offering two health insurance plan options:
a core plan with a 4% contribution and a higher level plan with a 10%
contribution.
However, the
teachers union wants no increased contribution and, in fact, has proposed a
plan which is even more costly than the current plan.
TIME TO
EDUCATE:
Understanding
the critical importance of having teachers in the classroom in order to educate
students, the School Board has proposed an 8-hour work day – common in the
private sector. The teachers union, however, wishes to maintain a 7.5 hour work day.
More
importantly, the teachers union also seeks 21 early dismissal days at the
elementary school level and a general reduction in class coverage
responsibilities.
The
Problem with Salary Comparisons
According
to Currie, the teachers union’s attempt to compare teacher salaries at
Souderton to neighboring districts is illogical because the districts differ in
aid ratios. Aid ratios are used to determine a district’s ability to fund
education costs from local taxes. This
ratio is determined using a formula that takes into account a district’s real
estate values and the personal incomes of its residents.
“Souderton
ranks 16th out of 22 districts in
The
highest paid teachers in Souderton earn salary of $89,363. Comparable school districts by aid ratio are
School
Board to
“We continue to work to a schedule of meetings
determined by a state mediator who has participated in negotiations from the
beginning of the process in January,” explained Currie. “We are hopeful that
the next meeting scheduled by the mediator, on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1, will
yield progress. We also hope that if an
agreement is not reached on that day, teachers will teach and continue to
negotiate to reach a fair resolution.”
For
more information, residents are encouraged to tune into SATV, Channel 28, for
“Negotiation Update,” which airs daily at 6:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:45 p.m.,
4:45 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Community members can also visit the school district’s
website at www.soudertonsd.org.