Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

North Penn teachers plan to strike Monday

Teachers in the 12,700-student North Penn School District are scheduled to strike on Monday after the school board's rejection of a proposed contract negotiated during nonbinding arbitration.

Teachers in the 12,700-student North Penn School District are scheduled to strike on Monday after the school board's rejection of a proposed contract negotiated during nonbinding arbitration.

The walkout in Montgomery County's largest district would follow a contentious period of court action, a strike threat, and severed negotiations.

After their contract expired in September, teachers threatened to strike and the board sought an injunction to prevent the work stoppage. The two sides then agreed to nonbinding arbitration.

The arbitrators recommended a five-year contract with no salary increase in the first year and raises of between 2.5 and 2.85 percent in each of the next four years, said Rob Broderick, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Starting pay in the district is $42,870, with top salary at $93,948.

On Thursday, the school board voted to reject the contract.

The same day, the North Penn Education Association, the union representing the district's 1,070 teachers, overwhelming approved it, said Alan Malachowski, NPEA president.

After the board vote, the union, which had authorized a strike in September and reaffirmed it on Monday, notified the board of its intent to walk out.

No new negotiations were scheduled as of late Friday.

School board members did not return calls seeking comment, but a statement on the district Web site said the proposal would raise the district budget by 17.3 percent over the course of the contract.

The panel's recommendation was not a fair and financially feasible solution for taxpayers, students, and teachers, the statement said.

The proposal was a unanimous recommendation of the three-member arbitration panel, which included lawyer Charles Sweet, the district's representative on the panel.

The panel, which included a union representative and a neutral third member, considered each side's proposals, held hearings, and then proposed an agreement.

Sweet declined to say why he signed off on the agreement, but added that "in this case the district's decision was that they could not live with [the proposal] over that period of time."

The district's last proposal included a two-year contract with pay raises averaging 2.4 percent in the first year and 3 percent in the second.

The union had proposed a three-year agreement with annual salary increases averaging 3.5 percent in the first year and 4.0 percent each in the second and third.

District officials have notified parents that all schools will be closed in the event of a strike, said Christine Liberaski, a district spokeswoman.

Special-education students who attend schools outside the district will attend class as usual, with transportation schedules unchanged.

Students who attend the North Montco Technical Career Center in Towamencin Township will resume classes on Tuesday. Transportation will be provided with some modifications. Families should check the district Web site.