In a joint statement released Thursday morning, the Tredyffrin/Easttown Board of School Directors and the Tredyffrin/Easttown Education Association (TEEA) announced a tentative deal for a new collective bargaining agreement.
The tentative agreement was reached at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night following a five-hour negotiating session, which took place in front of state mediator Robert B. Birnbrauer.
On Thursday, TEEA President Laura Whittaker said that while a major step remains, the end appears to be in sight.
?Our members haven?t seen it and I don?t think many of the board members know what?s in it yet, but I will say we are pleased to have reached the tentative agreement,? Whittaker said. ?It will have to be ratified by both parties, and we hope this will resolve the contract and we can move forward in a positive direction.?
The existing collective bargaining agreement expired on June 30. The details of the tentative agreement will not be announced publically until both parties ratify it. Whittaker said the TEEA will hold a general membership meeting for ratification early next month. The school board will vote on the agreement at its regularly-scheduled Oct. 22 meeting.
Whittaker said the tone of negotiations between the board and the union changed in the last couple of weeks, especially after the board decided to put members at the negotiating table.
?The big difference was that they were at the table this time, and that made the process of making decisions easier,? she said. ?We weren?t as far apart as it might?ve seemed in terms of numbers and expectations.?
Jeffrey Sultanik, an attorney at Fox Rothschild, LLP and chief negotiator for the school board, said the sides faced a monumental battle against remarkably difficult times.
?Our task was by no means simple,? Sultanik said. ?Both parties worked very hard to get to the tentative agreement.
?I have to compliment the teachers? association for working with us and recognizing the issues. The tentative agreement is reflective of this new environment.? Continued...
Sultanik said the sides had to overcome economic limitations based on the ceiling placed on property tax increases through the Act 1 Taxpayer Relief Act of 2006; losses to the Public School Employees Retirement System after the financial crash of 2008, coupled with significant increases in teacher contributions; increases in health care and special education costs; and loss of tax revenue through real estate assessment appeals.?It is an unprecedented economic environment,? Sultanik said. ?You can look around at Phoenixville, West Chester, Downingtown, Kennett Consolidated and elsewhere and hear a similar mantra.?
Whittaker said she recognizes that a ratified agreement won?t be the antidote for all of the district?s financial ills, but that it will help long-term.
?It is a step in the right direction to resolve some of the issues,? she said. ?I know it doesn?t get the board out of its budget deficit entirely, but it?s going to save them some money over the course of the agreement.?
In a joint statement released Thursday morning, the Tredyffrin/Easttown Board of School Directors and the Tredyffrin/Easttown Education Association (TEEA) announced a tentative deal for a new collective bargaining agreement.The tentative agreement was reached at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night following a five-hour negotiating session, which took place in front of state mediator Robert B. Birnbrauer.
On Thursday, TEEA President Laura Whittaker said that while a major step remains, the end appears to be in sight.
?Our members haven?t seen it and I don?t think many of the board members know what?s in it yet, but I will say we are pleased to have reached the tentative agreement,? Whittaker said. ?It will have to be ratified by both parties, and we hope this will resolve the contract and we can move forward in a positive direction.?
The existing collective bargaining agreement expired on June 30. The details of the tentative agreement will not be announced publically until both parties ratify it. Whittaker said the TEEA will hold a general membership meeting for ratification early next month. The school board will vote on the agreement at its regularly-scheduled Oct. 22 meeting.
Whittaker said the tone of negotiations between the board and the union changed in the last couple of weeks, especially after the board decided to put members at the negotiating table.
?The big difference was that they were at the table this time, and that made the process of making decisions easier,? she said. ?We weren?t as far apart as it might?ve seemed in terms of numbers and expectations.?
Jeffrey Sultanik, an attorney at Fox Rothschild, LLP and chief negotiator for the school board, said the sides faced a monumental battle against remarkably difficult times.
?Our task was by no means simple,? Sultanik said. ?Both parties worked very hard to get to the tentative agreement.
?I have to compliment the teachers? association for working with us and recognizing the issues. The tentative agreement is reflective of this new environment.?
Sultanik said the sides had to overcome economic limitations based on the ceiling placed on property tax increases through the Act 1 Taxpayer Relief Act of 2006; losses to the Public School Employees Retirement System after the financial crash of 2008, coupled with significant increases in teacher contributions; increases in health care and special education costs; and loss of tax revenue through real estate assessment appeals.
?It is an unprecedented economic environment,? Sultanik said. ?You can look around at Phoenixville, West Chester, Downingtown, Kennett Consolidated and elsewhere and hear a similar mantra.?
Whittaker said she recognizes that a ratified agreement won?t be the antidote for all of the district?s financial ills, but that it will help long-term.
?It is a step in the right direction to resolve some of the issues,? she said. ?I know it doesn?t get the board out of its budget deficit entirely, but it?s going to save them some money over the course of the agreement.?
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