Saucon Valley School Board attorney/negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik announced in an email Friday that a new “off-the-record” contract proposal by the Saucon Valley Education Association was made at a meeting between the two sides Thursday.
The Saucon Valley School District campus (FILE PHOTO)
Although details of the new proposal are confidential, Sultanik said it is based on a March 23, 2015 proposal that was “summarily rejected” by the school board, which makes it unlikely it will gain any traction when the board as a whole reviews it.
“The district’s labor counsel believes that the parties are still far apart in their respective positions,” he said, which is why both sides Thursday agreed “to proceed directly to a negotiated non-binding arbitration before a single arbitrator in lieu of the association going on strike during the 2014-2015 school year.”
The non-binding arbitration process will work as follows, according to Sultanik’s email:
- On or about May 26, the school board will post its final best offer, assuming the parties agree on a final schedule.
- Once an arbitrator is formally engaged by the parties, he or she will schedule a hearing or hearings to hear evidence on the issues in dispute, based upon each party’s final best offer.
- The arbitrator will then be obligated–under Pennsylvania law–to issue his/her recommended decision within 20 days of the last hearing.
Any hearings held as part of the non-binding arbitration process will be closed to the public, and the costs will be split by the two sides.
“Both parties have committed to a framework to move forward (toward non-binding arbitration) assuming that the board will be rejecting the off-the-record proposal,” Sultanik said.
District business manager David Bonenberger joined with Sultanik in the meeting before a state mediator, which Sultanik said lasted nearly six hours.
Representing the SVEA at the meeting were chief negotiator for the teachers, Rich Sultanik, and attorney Andrew Muir.
Teachers in Saucon Valley School District have been working without a contract for nearly three years, and the negotiation process has become increasingly acrimonious, with the threat of a strike hanging heavily in the air since teachers vote 2-1 in favor of a strike authorization in mid-April.
A decision from a state labor board official regarding an unfair labor practices allegation made by the board against the teachers union is still pending.
Further reading:
- Report: Taxpayers Have Spent $223K on Teacher Contract Talks
- Teachers Blast Board for Sending Lawyer to Contract Negotiations
- Teachers Meet, Vote 2-1 in Favor of Strike Authorization
- SVSB Attorney Explains Why Teachers’ Contract Vote Extension Request Was Denied
- Teachers Union Pres. to Board: Withdraw Unfair Labor Practice Charge