The Pennsbury Administration Building
File photo
The Pennsbury School District and the Pennsbury Education Association (PEA) have reached a tentative deal.
The one-year tentative agreement for the roughly 850 PEA members will include a 1 percent pay increase for teachers, no step movement, a new health plan for new hires and address previously frozen compensation for educational attainment, according to a district press release. The new contract is retroactive and would cover July 1 to June 30, 2016.
The PEA membership reportedly voted on and approved the tentative contract Tuesday evening.
Board solicitor Michael Clarke said the one-year deal is due to the “budget uncertainty” in Harrisburg.
“Nevertheless, we have been able to address two significant issues that will lay the groundwork for a longer-term contract. If the agreement is approved by the Board, the Board and PEA have agreed to continue negotiations on a longer-term contract,” he said.
The board will vote on the tentative deal at Thursday’s 8 p.m. school board meeting at Fallsington Elementary School in Falls Township.
The news of a possible new teachers’ contract came from top district officials just hours before students’ first day of school on Wednesday. The summer has been filed with rumors that teachers would strike early in the 2015-2016 school year if a new contract was not approved.
District officials said the proposed agreement was reached after 10-month of negotiations and with the help of state-appointed mediator John Cairns.
As recently as mid-August, the PEA requested a fact-finder be appointed. Under Pennsylvania Act 88, appointing a fact-finder is option for both the district and union when contract negotiations are at an impasse. The state-appointed fact-finder looks at contract proposals and makes recommendations based on them.
“I am pleased with the way these negotiations went,” School Board President Gary Sanderson said. “I believe the proposed agreement is good for students, taxpayers, and teachers. The one-year term gives us time to work on a longer-term contract.”
Pennsbury officials said the tentative contract would not impact the 2015-2016 budget. They cited savings from their new health care package and a higher than expected number of retirements helped save them money.
The most recent contract for PEA expired on June 30 and went into place in 2013. The five-year deal was retroactive and covered from 2010 until this summer.
Clarke told LevittownNow.com he expects negotiations for the next contract to begin almost as soon as the proposed deal is approved.
Contact information for PEA leaders was not immediately available.
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