Classes in the Penns Manor School District are cancelled this morning as a teachers strike is set to get underway.
The district and the Penns Manor Educators Association have been negotiating a new contract since January of last year, with the last contract expiring last July. Negotiation sessions were held on Friday and Saturday with a state mediator present. According to a news release from the district on Saturday night, the union presented the district with a strike proposal and informed the negotiating committee that the strike would go on if the proposal was not accepted. The union also asked that each school board member to be called and presented the proposal for their acceptance or rejection. The remaining board members rejected that proposal.
In its own release, the PMEA said that the union has made several concessions to keep negotiations moving forward, including increases in health care costs for teachers and requiring educators to repay the district for tuition reimbursements if the teacher leaves the district within two years.
Both sides say that other healthcare cost concerns and the early retirement incentive remain stumbling blocks in the negotiation process. The district says that health care costs will continue to increase over the next few years. The union says their concern is keeping spouses who work for other districts on the insurance plans.
The Penns Manor School District will hold a special public informational meeting tonight at 6:00 PM in the Elementary Multi-purpose room to discuss the issues. Everyone is invited to attend.
