Information is released to the public

By Micaiah Wise Bilger, Sentinel reporter, mwise@lewistownsentinel.com
MIFFLINTOWN — Information given to Juniata County School Board prior to its vote on a tentative contract with the Juniata County Education Association was provided to the media in an informational conference Thursday. However, one school board member believed the information given was “propaganda.”

School board President Gary Zeiders said he called the meeting to provide the facts of the negotiations to the public, but school board member Richard Birchfield said the information provided to the media was propaganda, and made the school board members who voted against the tentative agreement seem “incompetent.”

Zeiders said the meeting was an informational session for the media and that all board members were invited to attend to provide any comments.

Prior to the meeting, several people in attendance questioned the calling of a meeting.

According to Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act, the time, date and location of special school board meetings must be publicized at least 24 hours in advance of the event.

Zeiders replied that the session was an informational press conference only.

Superintendent Kenneth Albaugh said he checked with solicitor Scott Etter to make sure the informational press conference was legal.

Along with Birchfield, school board members Randy Dressler, Ralph Bashore, Mark Wagner and John Noss also attended the conference.

The information presented included terms of the rejected tentative contract: 3.99 percent salary increases every year for the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years; and health insurance cost sharing of $13.50 per paycheck for single, two-person and family plans for the first year, and for the second year, $20 for single, $23 for two-person and $25 for family plans.

Wagner said the teachers would not entertain a percent cost share for the health insurance.

Zeiders said currently, members of the teachers’ union do not pay a cost share for health insurance. If the contract had been agreed upon, the district would have generated a total of $201,110 toward premium costs, Zeiders said in a prepared statement.

The district continues to pay union members full health care costs because the teachers still are working under their previous contract, as was agreed upon earlier in negotiations, he said.

“Each day that an agreement is put off continues full premium costs by the district and higher costs for extracurricular positions,” he said, noting that the contract included a $25,000 savings on extracurricular positions in comparison to the last contract.

Zeiders said the negotiating teams “felt it better for both sides to take a two-year agreement ... not knowing the third year’s (cost for health care.)”

“Now lets consider some other facts that will cost the tax payers when the strike comes,” Zeiders said.

When the union stopped working in the past, hourly staff claimed unemployment, he said.

“Based on current staff, cafeteria, monitors, part-time cleaners, LPNs and utility staff, we are looking at just under $4,000 a day,” he added.

A strike of 20 days or more could cost up to $120,000 in unemployment compensation, he said.

“None of this is subject to reimbursement; (it’s) taxpayer dollars,” Zeiders said.

Zeiders added that based on the information, he felt “pay now, or pay later at a greater cost.”

However, Birchfield said he was concerned that a horizontal movement schedule was not provided for the contract. The schedule involves levels of salary increases based on the academic credits teachers achieve.

Birchfield said he thought it was the school board’s responsibility to see the schedule before voting and to understand the levels and language of the horizontal movement schedule that would be placed into the contract.

Zeiders said the teachers’ union said they did not have time to prepare a schedule prior to the school board’s vote, and he too was concerned about “bogus credits” that may allow teachers to receive raises.

Albaugh said the language to prevent against the bogus credits was taken care of in the contract.

Later in the discussion, Bashore suggested that the school board vote to begin the school year late so that the teachers do not have a chance to strike.

“We have the right to set a schedule,” Bashore said.

Noss said he “thought it was just not very fancy” that the teaches’ union almost kept the seniors from graduating on time. He said he knew of one graduate leaving for the military, one leaving for college and one having surgery the week after graduation. The strike would have affected their plans, he said.

Zeiders added that the school board would vote at their June 26 school board meeting on whether to hold extracurricular activities during possible strike in the fall.

While discussing possible scenarios if a strike should occur, Albaugh said the board should be aware that parents would have the option to send their children to charter schools to finish the school year on time, should a strike prolong graduation dates.

Birchfield replied that Albaugh should work for the teachers’ union. Albaugh previously said he did negotiate as vice president of a union in Forest Area School District and as an administrator in Everett Area School District.

“Whether you like it or not, I need to inform you of the potential,” Albaugh said, adding that there is no tax increase for the 2008-2009 school year.

Zeiders also expressed his concern with board members failing to attend meetings.

“These are critical decisions that need to be made,” he said.

Zeiders emphasized that county residents would have seen no tax increase for the 2008-2009 school year if the tentative contract had been adopted.

Dressler left before the meeting began, leaving a written statement.

“... I personally feel that the tentative contract (which failed the board vote on June 6) ... was a fair contract. It would have been the first time that the Juniata County Education Association would have had to contribute to their health care,” Dressler said in the statement. “I can’t believe that outside influence could have possibly swayed this vote, after all the information that was provided to board members. I feel the students are going to be the ones to suffer, and the tax payers in the long run.”