Frustrated Radnor teachers go public with labor spat

With labor talks still simmering six weeks into the new school year, unionized teachers and staff in the Radnor School District say they're turning up the heat to build pressure on board members for a new contract.

After considerable pushback from students and parents, they dropped their initial formula for a breakthrough - withholding recommendation letters for college-bound seniors. And packing a school board meeting earlier this month with 100 teachers and staff in black union T-shirts did nothing to change the equation.

Now, entering the 10th month of talks, teachers in the affluent Delaware County district say they are going public with details of the negotiations, breaking an earlier promise.

"There's been no progress," said David Wood, president of the Radnor Township Education Association, which represents 320 members whose contract expired Aug. 31.

Teachers and boards in the Lower Merion Area, Marple Newtown, and Bristol Township School Districts also continue to negotiate contracts.

Radnor teachers maintain it's time for a raise after several years of low-to-meager increases following the 2008 recession. They say they have made concessions to help pull the district through tough times, earning them lower salaries than in some surrounding districts.

The district, with 3,700 students, is financially thriving, they maintain, pointing to a new turf field and increased parking at the high school, two elementary school renovations, and expansion into full-day kindergarten.

"The board knows this is not a cash-strapped district," Wood said.

The two sides are haggling over a cost-of-living increase and health-care payments. The teachers are asking for 1.85 percent annual raises for three years and have offered to pay higher percentages of their salaries for health insurance.

At the core of the dispute is an effort by the district to hold the line on salaries and shift more health-care costs to employees.

School board director Eric Zajac insisted that the built-in "step" increases that teachers get for years of experience and education level represent automatic wage hikes.

"We're not talking about a few bucks," he said.

Teachers typically get smaller increases in the early part of their careers and bigger jumps as they approach 15 years of service. For instance, a teacher with a master's degree plus 30 additional credits jumps from $77,300 in year 12 to $102,825 in year 15.

The teachers union said those bigger increases just compensate for the much smaller ones at the start of their careers.

"The whole teaching matrix is geared to the promise of career earnings," said Paul Wright, an RTEA co-negotiator. "You hope you're seeing consistent steps throughout."

After they top out, teachers at the high end of the salary scale rely on cost-of-living raises to boost salaries, the union says, and as their shares of health care go up, some end up with net losses.

The district says its health costs have gone up 25 percent over the last several years. Teachers currently pay 1.9 percent of their salary for family coverage, and the district wants them to pay a percentage of the premiums.

Wright said the district's proposal would triple insurance payments for some members in the middle of the salary scale.

Zajac argued the changes are necessary, saying Radnor is forecasting increases in insurance costs, and school systems across the state are being asked to pay more into the underfunded state pension system.

He also said money for capital improvements such as the new turf field can't be used for salaries because they are one-time expenditures.

Radnor teachers earn an average of $15,000 less than some teachers in surrounding communities, the union contends. According to state data, the median income for Radnor full-time teachers for 2014-15 was $92,550; in Lower Merion, in Montgomery County, $104,041.

Lower Merion's contract for 1,400 members, which includes all employees except administrators, expired July 1. The two sides are meeting Monday and Tuesday in daylong sessions.

Although Radnor is an affluent "destination" district, Wood said, a lower-paid staff eventually could damage its brand if prospective teachers are attracted elsewhere.

Among their supporters is Mike Miller, 40, a businessman who is running for school board and attended Radnor schools. He questioned why the board was taking so long to reach a new pact.

"The teachers want it done, the people in the community want it done," he said.

One area where he said he thinks the district can economize is the administration. Tredyffrin/Easttown, which has almost twice as many students and three more schools, has fewer administrators, he added.

"The thing that makes a district is not the buildings," Miller said, "it's the people in it."

kboccella@phillynews.com

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