3-Year SVSD Labor Dispute Could Nearly Be Over

Note: This story has been updated with additional information.

The new school year in Saucon Valley School District is less than a week old, and many parents will no doubt be relieved to hear that a three-and-a-half-year teacher contract dispute in the district could nearly be over.

Officials on both sides announced late Friday that a tentative agreement between teachers and the school district has been reached, although details about the agreement are not yet being made public.

School board attorney Jeff Sultanik said in an emailed statement to local media outlets that “teachers have already voted to approve the agreement on Aug. 27 and the school board will be voting on the agreement on Tuesday evening at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting.”

“No comments will be made by the board or the teachers association about the substance of the tentative agreement until the board meeting on Tuesday evening, when a joint press release will be released by the parties,” he added.

Saucon Valley Education Association president Vivian Demko released the identical statement.

At issue have been teacher salaries, healthcare premium costs and graduate study requirements.

The union and the district both agreed to enter non-binding arbitration in the spring, but the school board voted to reject the arbitrator’s recommendations late last month, while teachers voted unanimously to accept them.

The school board meeting will be held Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. in the high school Audion room.

The meeting agenda–which includes the tentative six-year professional contract, starting on page 92–is posted on the school district website.

The proposed salary schedule that is included begins on page 107.

In the final year (2017-2018) of the proposed schedule the highest salary–for a teacher on Step 14 in the M+60 column–is $98,097, which is less than the highest salary in that quadrant in arbitrator Timothy J. Brown’s proposal.

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