Souderton: “There’s a price to be paid"

From the BCCT

Strike proves costly for many
By RICH PIETRAS

It’s hard to predict the outcome of the Souderton Area School District strike. But it goes without saying, before the teachers decide to put their picket signs down, the price tag is going up.

Parents and students are taking a hit. Children have nowhere to spend afternoons once occupied in the classroom. The cost of childcare, plus the gas to get them there, is a burden.

While teachers are somewhat insulated from lost wages because 180 school days will have to be fulfilled, the average teacher could lose $3,000 in pay because of the strike.

According to Bill Lukridge, president of the teachers union, teachers stand to lose 5 percent of their salary. Based on the average salary in the district ($61,630 for the 2005-06 school year) that comes to about $3,000.

School board solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik sounded surprised that it took the union so long to realize there was salary at stake.

“There’s a price to be paid for going on strike,” Sultanik said.

Teachers, who have been on strike since Sept. 2, do not get a paycheck during the strike, but will receive checks after they are forced to return to work on Wednesday as the sides move into nonbinding arbitration. If no deal is reached, teachers could strike again in the spring, but would have to return after about a week to guarantee students will get 180 days of schooling.

What the teachers will lose is the in-service days in their contracts. The teachers worked three of those days in August, but nine remain.

Sultanik said the district does not intend to make up the nine in-service days.

“They already lost the days of the strike,” Sultanik said. “And in our opinion, it’s not our intention to make up those days.”

The union estimates the district would save nearly $1.5 million from the work stoppage by not having to pay teachers for those nine days. And, it argues, that $1.5 million is enough to close nearly the entire gap between the school board and union’s health plan proposals.

“If the union is willing to give up those makeup days, we are willing to talk about that in terms of the overall context of the bargaining,” Sultanik said.

Keep up on the latest in the Souderton strike at www.intelligencernow.com/category/souderton-school-strike. For updates on negotiations, visit www.soudertonsd.org and www.saea.info/.