Duquesne teachers to go on strike

From the Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Remember the Dusquesne district that was taken over in 2000? How are things going? Ummm...not so well.

The high school closed in 2007. The teachers are woefully underpaid. There's been five administrations in the seven years since state takeover.

Makes Morrisville look positively rock-solid by comparison.

Duquesne teachers to go on strike Tuesday
By Daveen Rae Kurutz
TRIBUNE-REVIEW, Saturday, August 30, 2008

Teachers in the Duquesne City School District will be on strike starting Tuesday morning.

The teachers' union informed the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, the governing body for the distressed district, in a letter Friday afternoon, said Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman Butch Santicola.

"The salary offer was not adequate," he said. "Even our salary increase alone would keep them as the lowest-paid teachers in the county."

The average Duquesne teacher is paid about $44,000, while the average teacher salary in the county is more than $60,000, Santicola said.

Teachers initially were requesting a 22 percent increase but lowered their offer to 19 percent. The union was offered a 3 percent raise in a one-year contract but rejected it, said Bill Andrews, solicitor for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

The increase teachers are requesting is unrealistic, he said.

"It's ludicrous. This is a district that is under state control and beyond bankrupt. They're dealing with a tax base that frankly can't afford it."

Santicola said no negotiations are scheduled over the Labor Day weekend.

The district educates 520 students in kindergarten through eighth grade under a five-year agreement with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and the Pennsylvania Department of Education that began in July 2007.

The troubled district was taken over by the state in 2000. Its high school was closed in June 2007, and students in grades 9-12 were sent to East Allegheny and West Mifflin Area schools. Those students will still have classes and transportation throughout the strike.

Extracurricular activities will be canceled during the strike. Parent updates will be posted at the elementary entrance to the school and available by calling 412-394-5505.

Santicola said the 49 teachers have worked under five administrations since 2000, something that continues to frustrate the staff.

"It's really important that everyone understands that this has happened, that has happened and a lot of different administrations have come through," Santicola said. "They've all come and gone, and no one has come in with a solution."

Andrews said students will still attend a full 180-day academic schedule and referred to the strike as a "disruption."

"This serves no useful purpose," Andrews said. "It's unnecessary, but it's their call, so be it."

In Armstrong County, the Apollo-Ridge School Board yesterday approved a five-year contact with teachers that gives them an average wage increase of 3.6 percent each year. The union voted to approve the contract earlier this week.

The contract eliminates the traditional indemnity health insurance option. Teachers will not have to pay health insurance premiums, but the out-of-pocket co-payments have increased.