Mt. Pleasant Area school board rejects fact finder's report

Mt. Pleasant Area teachers say they will continue to push for a new contract despite the school board’s rejection of a report compiled by a state-appointed fact finder.

“I still believe, and will always believe, that it was a fair report, reasonable recommendations,” Mt. Pleasant Area Education Association President Terri Remaley said. “And our association will continue to — as we always have attempted — to continue to bargain in a reasonable manner.”

The contract between the school district and union, which represents 143 teachers, counselors, nurses and school psychologists, expired in August.

The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board appointed a fact finder in mid-September to review the proposals after negotiations stalled.

In front of an auditorium packed with dozens of teachers and residents — many wearing red to show their support for the union — board members on Monday voted 7-2 to reject the report. The board previously rejected the 56-page report during a special meeting Oct. 25.

“We are definitely disappointed in the board vote,” Remaley said.

There has not been any official discussion of a strike, she said.

Fact finders are intended to act as neutral parties to offer recommendations based on “the interest and welfare of taxpayers and the ability of the employer to finance and administer the issues proposed,” according to the report, which was issued Oct. 22 and is available online at the state Labor Relations Board website.

Residents and teachers addressed the board for nearly 40 minutes at the start of the meeting, urging its members to accept the report. They voiced support for pay raises, lower healthcare costs and preserving the sick day donation program, as well as practical matters like ensuring teachers have adequate classroom supplies and sufficient time for bathroom breaks.

Classroom teachers in the district made between $47,119 and $78,763 per year during the 2017-18 school year, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Board members Annette Anderson and George Hare, who attended the meeting via telephone, voted to accept the report.

“You are the lifeline to our students,” Anderson said during the meeting, addressing teachers in the audience. “This is not an issue of contract, this is not an issue of numbers, this is an issue of trust.”

Anderson encouraged people to inquire about the district’s spending and to ask board members about their votes. She also raised questions about whether information about contracts — including those for maintenance, repairs, hiring and athletics — was shared with board members ahead of votes.

“The bottom line is, you deserve an answer if you want one,” Anderson told attendees.

Board President John Sarnese said members rejected the report because the proposals would cost too much — upwards of $3 million that would be raised through taxes, according to figures he and board solicitor Gary Matta said were calculated by the district’s business office.

Concerns about signing a seven-year contract also factored, as did a push to eliminate the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the National Education Association, state and national branches of the union, from the contract, Sarnese said.

“We just do not want their name on the contract,” Sarnese said, adding the local union would still be allowed to use the state and national branches as a resource.

Following the vote, board member Ronald Bauer said that though the report addressed many issues that came up in negotiations, “Fact finding did not address them all.”

He did not elaborate during the meeting on which issues were not addressed.

“The board is anxious to get back to negotiations,” he said.

Jamie Martines is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jamie at 724-850-2867, jmartines@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Jamie_Martines.