The Pleasant Valley School District put parents on notice Monday that they should “plan accordingly,” because it looks like a strike is possible.

The district said in a statement that its recent meeting with the Pleasant Valley Education Association on Feb. 11 lasted seven hours, but they remain at an impasse.

“We anticipate the PVEA negotiators will be advising its general membership that a strike will occur on Feb. 28,” the district said.

Drew Dymond, president of PVEA, said, “Last week, we had two meetings, and both ended earlier than expected at the board’s request.”

PVEA gave the school district official notice in December of its intent to strike, if an agreement could not be reached.

During that Dec. 16 school board meeting, Dymond said, “The last time we negotiated with the board was back on Oct. 13. Our negotiations team met with the mediator back on Tuesday, Nov. 30. As a result of no progress the last two months and nothing officially scheduled until Jan. 18, which we just heard about that when it became official from the board, we have given Dr. Konrad a strike date of Feb. 28.”

The parties met on Jan. 26 and 31, and Feb. 9 and 11, according to the district’s recent statement.

“Our teachers asked for improved working conditions and competitive salaries and benefits to compete with neighboring districts,” Dymond said. “We have made creative and reasonable offers to the board, but an agreement has not been reached at this point. We are hopeful to have meaningful bargaining sessions with the board to avoid a work stoppage.”

The next meeting with the school district is on Feb. 25, Dymond said.

The school district’s statement said, “Unfortunately, the sticking points are significant. However, at its core, the board desires to enter into a sustainable collective bargaining agreement recognizing the financial issues of the district.”

At last week’s school board meeting, the district announced it was facing a $5.8 million budget gap and could raise taxes 4.7%.

What would avoid a strike

“The board’s current proposal provides salary increases in three out of the four years of the contract,” the district stated. “With health care costs continuing to rise, and the district obligated to pay a vast majority of these increases, the proposal also asks the association to pay some additional cost shares for health care and prescription drug.”

One option to avoid a strike is for the school district and union to enter into a fact-finding process where a neutral third party reviews the proposals and makes a recommendation. It is a nonbinding arbitration, so neither party is forced to agree to the recommendation.

Negotiations began in January 2021 between the PVEA and the school board’s finance committee.

After the elections in November, two of the finance committee’s members changed to include newly elected Diane Serfass and Michael Galler. They joined incumbent Director Norm Burger on the committee along with Mark Fitzgerald, the district’s solicitor, and a state mediator.

The teachers’ contract expired on June 30, but continued on as status quo in accordance with Pennsylvania labor laws. This means that both the school district and the teachers union agreed to continue as if the contract had not expired. The district would pay salaries and provide health care benefits and the teachers would continue to work as the new contract is negotiated.

Retirement incentive

In an effort to minimize the number of teachers who could be furloughed by the district, the teachers union did ask for a retirement incentive in December to be prepared. Furloughs were suggested last spring in order to help the district balance the budget, and paraprofessionals were furloughed in 2020.

Last week, the school board passed a memorandum of understanding between the district and the union to offer a conditional retirement incentive.

Dymond said the incentive is adequate as far as financial, but it has a high minimum requirement of participants in order to go into effect. The MOU requires a minimum of 25 teachers to agree to take the retirement incentive via written letter by March 7 at 4 p.m. or it’s null and void.

“We have never had 25 teachers retire in a single year, so it may be difficult to reach that number,” Dymond said.

If 25 teachers do volunteer to retire, their severance payments would be 35% of their base salary, and would be paid in two payments on Oct. 31 and Feb. 28, 2023, into an enhanced tax-sheltered annuity account.

They would also have to permanently retire and file into the Pennsylvania School Employee Retirement System. If they become permanently employed in a nonsubstitute position in another Pennsylvania public school district and suspend their PSERS retirement eligibility/income, then they will not receive the severance pay and must pay back any installments that were received.