Teachers contract the hot topic at Perkiomen Valley School District meeting

It was a full house in the Perkiomen Valley High School library as the Perkiomen Valley Education Association (PVEA) and area residents attended the School Board of Directors business meeting Monday.

Donning black T-shirts in a sign of unity, the PVEA members made up the majority of those present.

The last teachers contract expired Aug. 31, 2010, and the union and school board have yet to reach a new agreement. A mediator is currently working with representatives from both sides to resume negotiations, which came to a stop after PVEA submitted a final proposal at the Feb. 4 bargaining session.

The teachers have threatened to strike if an agreement isn't reached by the end of this month.

The contract was the focus of the public comments portion of the meeting. 

 “We are here tonight because we want a fair and equitable contract,” PVEA President Bill McGill said to the board.

According to McGill, last summer, the board reached a two-year agreement with district administrators that “included an average of a 2.9-percent increase in salary and contained not one giveback or concession in the benefit package they had prior to reaching the new agreement.

“We want to be treated as fairly as you treated the administrators last year.”

McGill reiterated that the teachers will strike — after giving 48 hours’ notice — if an agreement is not reached by Feb. 28.

“The last time we met, we gave you our rock-bottom proposal,” McGill continued. “The offer was made to help expedite and end these negotiations that have dragged on for close to 14 months. Our last proposal contained concessions on the benefits we currently have as a way of trying to save the district some money because we are well aware of the times we are in.”

“We are willing to negotiate, to bargain with you, so long as you understand the true meaning of those terms. You know where we work. We’re not hard to find. Let’s get the contract settled,” McGill said in conclusion.

After he finished speaking, PVEA and other attendees cheered during a thunderous standing ovation.

Faye Smith — a nurse at Middle School East, Perkiomen Township resident and parent of former students — recalled taxpayers’ resistance when some of the schools were being constructed. However, in the end, Smith said, “The community always stepped up. They wanted the best buildings; they wanted the best teachers; they wanted the best of everything.”

Smith also asked, “As a taxpayer, what do we pay (School Board legal advisor Jeffrey Sultanik)?”

Solicitor Brian Subers said Sultanik gets paid an hourly rate of $180.

“I don’t have a figure as to what he’s been paid to date for the negotiation and fact finding,” Subers said. “I believe there’s an outstanding right-to-know request [that] is being processed by the district administration in that regard.”

Skippack resident Dave Schoff, noting he asked a similar question about 10 years ago, inquired, “What interest would he [the attorney] have in trying to end this thing if you’re paying him on an hourly basis instead of a flat fee? The more this goes on, the more he makes. Why would he want to end it?”

Mindy Strohecker, a district substitute teacher and parent said, “It seems the teachers aren’t fairly represented on our [district] website,” in terms of contract negotiation news. “Where’s the support for the people who teach my children every day?”

“I want (the contract) settled, so that my teachers of my children can put it out their minds and get on with their jobs of educating my girls and all the other students in this district,” Strohecker said.

“This district needs to value all of its employees — not just the administration,” another parent told the board. “If you’re tightening the belt, do it fairly, do it openly, and do it with everyone.”

In other business

• “Facilities, custodial and food service negotiations team is meeting again on Feb. 22. We don’t have any update beyond that,” Board President Lynn Bigelow said.

• In the superintendent's report, Dr. Clifford Rogers announced that, “PDE [Pennsylvania Department of Education] has changed the way we measure the graduation rate.”

This year, the AYP will be calculated on the “leaver rate, which means we calculate the number of students who started the year and how many leave.” Under this measurement, 97 percent graduate from PV, Rogers said.

The new, national way to measure the graduation rate is the “cohort method,” which measures how many students graduate on time. At this point, this rate is 88 percent, Rogers said.

• The Center for American Progress “calculated a way to determine whether or not we are a ‘high-quality school district' that does so with good use of public funds. It’s called ‘return on investment,'” Rogers said.

According to the site’s findings, PV is above average for performance and “right on the nose of average for spending for student. That puts PV on a high return on investment figure.”

• The board unanimously approved the consent agenda, which included Dr. Grace Cisek’s resignation.

• From the board president's report: Bigelow read a portion of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s letter of commendation for the administration. According to the PDE, the audit report for fiscal years in 2005-08 “did not contain any findings or observations … .”

• Five school board members are on the ballot this year, Bigelow noted. Nominating petitions can begin to circulate from Feb. 15 and must be “wrapped up and submitted” by March 8, Bigelow said.

• For the District Athletic Committee report, board member John King stated that there was a discussion of fees for extracurricular activities. “Those in attendance believe when faced with eliminating programs or pay a fee, parents would opt for the fee.”

District Athletic Director Larry Glanski will meet with the Policy Committee to discuss participation fees, King said.

• The District Policy Committee completed and forwarded to the board the Commercialism in the Schools Policy and Internet/Intranet Allocation, Development and Use policies. Board Vice President Lori Snyder encouraged everyone to “take a good look at the commercialism policy."

• In the student liaison report, Brandon Dietrich had high praise for Monday’s Challenge Day. “It brought, pretty much, everybody in the room together, and really understanding where everyone’s coming from and getting a much deeper respect for fellow students and teachers,” he said. “I think it was definitely a great thing that it was brought to PV, and now we’ll see how it gets incorporated into the rest of the student body.”

 • After adjourning, the board went into an executive session to discuss labor relations.