Saucon Teachers’ Health Care Costs Discussed

Much information about the ongoing teacher contract dispute was shared at Tuesday evening’s Saucon Valley School Board meeting, but again the news from the board was not good, with negotiating committee member Ed Inghrim characterizing the current state of the negotiations (following a meeting between the two sides Oct. 8) as at “a total impasse.”

It was revealed at the meeting that the teachers’ current health plan classifies as a “Cadillac plan” under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which means the district could be subject to an excise tax because the health benefits it is offering teachers “go above and beyond what (the government) thinks are appropriate,” Inghrim said.

Puerta and Inghrim said this is one of the reasons the board is seeking concessions from the teachers union on their contributions to their health care coverage.

Currently, teachers pay a $250 annual deductible for single coverage, and a $500 deductible for family coverage. There is a $45 monthly premium for single coverage and a $95 premium for family coverage, board members said.

Inghrim said the Saucon Valley Education Association’s position on health care coverage is that “they don’t want any changes.”

“From the board’s perspective, that’s totally unacceptable,” he added.

Saucon teacher Todd Lipp questioned Puerta about how the health care costs for teachers in the district compare with those paid by other public school teachers in Northampton County.

Puerta said he was unsure, but “I have no problem sharing that [information].”

According to Lipp, Saucon teachers “are at the top” in terms of what they pay for their health care.

The board also explained that upon retirement, teachers’ are eligible to be compensated for individual health coverage for a period of seven years or until they turn 65–whichever comes first. Retired teachers must also make up the difference in the price of their annual health care due to rising costs.

Inghrim said that with its latest contract proposal, the board hopes to fix something that’s “been broken…and that’s our salary schedule.”

The district currently has the biggest minimum/maximum ratio–or differential between the lowest and highest teacher salaries–of any school district in the Lehigh Valley, according to a chart distributed at the meeting.

The lowest minimum salary at Saucon is currently $44,132, while the highest is $93,072, and only the Parkland School District pays more at the top step/last column of its salary schedule ($95,278), according to the chart.

Inghrim said the property tax rate in Parkland is also 22 percent lower than in Saucon Valley.

With its latest contract proposal–a six-year contract Inghrim called an extended version of the contract recommended by a state-appointed factfinder last year–the district hopes to boost salaries at the lower end of the pay scale, while slowing down column movement at the top end.

Column movement–which refers to raises automatically awarded for graduate study–is unusual in the Saucon Valley School District because it occurs after teachers have earned just six graduate credits, according to Inghrim.

“That is very uncommon in Lehigh Valley school districts,” he said, adding that most other districts only offer column movement raises after at least 12 credits are earned.

With both sides far apart on many fronts, and negotiations already having dragged on for nearly three years, Inghrim conceded that fatigue is setting in, but Puerta said the board remains resolute in its opposition to the teachers’ latest demands in spite of the fact that “this has not been good for our district.”

The proposal the board has placed on the negotiating table, he said, “is at our upper limit.”

“We don’t know where to go on this, but we also know that this thing has to go to a resolution,” he added. “We respectfully ask for the community support on this position.”

Superintendent Dr. Monica McHale-Small also asked for members of the community to treat each other respectfully, although they may disagree about the issues at stake.

“I see the frustration in the comments being made online and in conversation,” she said.

She added that “the behavior which we demonstrate can teach powerful lessons, both positive and negative.”

In response to a question from a member of the public, board solicitor Mark Fitzgerald said the current negotiating process can continue indefinitely, unless both sides would agree to enter into binding arbitration, which he called highly unlikely.

However, he noted that there are laws against “regressive bargaining,” which the board has accused the SVEA of engaging in.

Over the summer, the board cited that alleged tactic when it filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the Saucon Valley Education Association.

That complaint is scheduled to be heard by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board Nov. 24.

Teachers in the Saucon Valley have been working without a contract since June 30, 2012.