PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Contract negotiations, strike affect Penn-Trafford
by Rossilynne Skena Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005 at 9:34 AM
reskena@yahoo.com

In depth news story covering the past 11 months of contract negotiations between the Penn-Trafford School District and Penn-Trafford Education Association.

Contract negotiations, strike affect P-T
-By Rossilynne Skena
Senior
Penn-Trafford High School

For the past 11 months, the leaders of the Penn-Trafford Education Association (PTEA) and the negotiators for the P-T School District have been meeting to discuss the renewal of the teachers’ contract, which expired on June 30, 2005.


The PTEA had submitted a proposal to the district, which needed to be approved by Oct. 20 at noon to prevent a strike.


PTEA President Shaun Rinier had said the strike is a result of no significant progress being made. Giving the district the mandatory 48-hour notice prior to striking, the strike began on Monday, Oct. 24. Daily, teachers form picket lines at their respective schools and the administration building. No students are to attend school for the duration of the first strike, according to high school Principal Scott Inglese. A strike may last as long as the union deems necessary so long as all 180 days of school are completed by June 15; days missed by the strike will be made up during holiday breaks as well as during the summer. The only mandatory days off of school are Memorial Day and Thanksgiving Day, according to Inglese.


Said high school building union representative Bill Lazaro, “We’re not looking forward to striking. This is our last choice and we just ask to be treated fairly.”


If the teachers decide to strike again, seniors will most likely be required to attend school and will be taught by the administrators. “At this point we’re planning on brining in the seniors for a second strike so they can graduate by June 15 and it won’t interfere with any college plans,” said Inglese. The schedule for the day if seniors attend is “up in the air” according to Inglese. It may be a modified schedule with just core classes – Math, English, Science and Social Studies. The district’s current and some retired administrators will teach the students.


During a recent meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 18, Rinier said no progress occurred, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Also according to the Tribune Review, Rinier decided to avert a strike, at that time, because he and the union did not want to obstruct the Senior Night football game on the 21st nor put parents in a bind with childcare until after the weekend.


At the prior week’s meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 11, some progress was made regarding health care, but not advance was made in salary issues.


The contract negotiations have not only affected teachers, administrators and school board members but also affected the entire community including parents, taxpayers and particularly students.


All high school students are affected by the teachers not opening the doors to their homerooms until 7:15, which is when their day contractually begins. Students are forced to mill around the halls until the doors will be opened. Students seem to prefer waiting in the halls to cramming into the cafeteria, however, which was the alternative option.


Seniors seem to have the most complaints as they work to submit college applications and secure extracurricular records.


Seniors have griped that some teachers are declining to write letters of recommendation until a contract agreement has been reached. Rinier has stated, according to the Penn Trafford News, that the decision of whether to write letters is up to each individual teacher. While the union did submit a grievance to the district on payment for writing letters, it was turned down. Students still finding difficulty in obtaining letters are encouraged to contact their preferred colleges to see if alternatives are available.


Also, the high school will submit a notice explaining the situation with the application for students who could not obtain recommendations. Stated Inglese in the letter, “We do not want any of our students to be affected adversely by this decision. Therefore, I am asking that you waive the letter of recommendation requirement for this student until the contract is resolved.” Thus far colleges have not had any issues with waiving the requirement. “Seton Hill had called [after we sent them the letter] and thanked us. They’re not holding the student responsible [for not having a recommendation],” said Inglese.


As for extracurricular activities, clubs whose sponsors had a contract prior to June 30 may still exist. For instance, groups such as SADD, CAP and Yearbook may still continue because their respective sponsors had a contract. However, groups that where sponsored by a teacher who did not receive monetary compensation for sponsoring my not exist. This includes organizations such as the language clubs, Young Democrats and InterAct. These clubs without teacher sponsors may continue to exist with a parent who volunteers to “facilitate” meetings. These parents must have Act 34 and 151 clearances on file with the office.


Perturbed by the issues, nearly 250 students, parents, teachers and taxpayers attended the school board meeting on Oct. 10, which was held in the high school auditorium. The meeting was moved from the Administration building to the high school in anticipation of a large crowd.


Nearly 20 people spoke, almost all in favor of the teachers. Senior Nikki Pizarro vehemently said, “We’re the people who are the most affected, but we’re the people who are represented the least. I’m not concerned about taxes. I’m 17. I don’t want teachers to go on strike. I don’t want to lose this time I need to get prepared for college. We have no say in anything at all, but these are the things that are changing our lives. I hate to be self-centered, but I thought this was for us and our futures.”


Incidentally, all students are represented by their Student Union School Board Representative at every School Board meeting throughout the school year to report to the Board the status of the school as well as students’ thoughts. Views may be directed to her through the Student Union.


Community members spoke just as fervidly of the prospect of a strike; said resident Harvey Mazel, “If there is a strike, I’m going to hold the School Board responsible and accountable for this.”


After each comment, School Board President Sallie Bradley tried to rebut and offer an explanation. The meeting was concluded with Rinier’s offer to bargain around the clock Tuesday through Friday and the discussion of his side of the issue. His peroration received a standing ovation from the audience.


The entirety of the issue stems from the expiration of the six-year contract in June, as aforementioned. According to Rinier’s statements at the public town hall meeting held on Sept. 14, teachers expected changes in June.


The first change Rinier discussed at the meeting was the necessity of a better student to teacher ratio. P-T’s student to teacher ratio is at 19.5 to 1 which is the highest in comparison to other neighboring districts such as Gateway, which has a 14.5 to 1 ratio.


Next, a different policy for Individualized Education Program (I.E.P.) students was discussed – having nearly half a class comprised of inclusion students inhibits learning, according to teachers. To solve the problem, he said, more aides could be utilized. According to http://www.greatschools.net, P-T has four Instructional Aides; each one is responsible for 1,201 students, which is well over the state average of 133 students per aide.


The most publicized issues, those of health care and salary seem to be cause for the most controversy. According to Rinier, the superintendent is the highest paid P-T employee who had a $115,000 salary during the 2003-04 school year. This is approximately equivalent with the payment of other district’s superintendents. Administrators’ salaries ranged from $85,000-$99,000 according to the 03-04 figures. These figures are comparable to those from other districts. The highest paid teacher, one who has worked at P-T for 19 years and obtained a Master’s degree, earns $64,042 which is the lowest of all neighboring school districts’, top pay rates, excluding Jeanette, according to Rinier at the town hall meeting. The District proposed to have the top salary at $70,992 after 23 years in 08-09; the PTEA proposed to have the top salary at $77,843 after 17 years.


Moreover, other districts’ teachers often pay little ($10-$20 per month) for health care while P-T teachers are paying as much as $204 per mother or over $2,400 per year for health care.


Gaining this advancement in salary may increase the community’s tax millage. The past seven-mill tax increase was not used for teacher’s salaries at all, according to Rinier. Upon questioning of the millage increase during the School Board meeting, Business Manager Brett Lago stated that those who wanted to know where the money went, should have attended the may Board meeting for a line by line account.


Possible reasons for the lack in salary could stem from points in the state’s funding allocation system, which the district posted in response to the community’s request from the school board meeting. P-T’s enrollment grew by 1,000 students in the past 13 years. This 30 percent growth accounted for additional costs such as new classrooms and teachers. The state did not provide any additional financial aid. Moreover, P-T has little local business to tax (96% of Pa. school districts receive more business revenue than P-T).


While the issues on both sides are stirring controversy, said the district in their letter to the community, “We know that our teachers work very hard and are vital to the success of our children and they deserve fair and reasonable compensation . . . We look forward to a swift and successful completion of teacher contract negotiations.”

For further information from both sides visit http://www.penntrafford.org or http://www.pteducators.org.

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