Souderton: Tentative Pact

From the BCCT.

Board authorizes tentative pact with unions
By: LOU SESSINGER
The Intelligencer

The Souderton Area School Board is willing to accept most of two recommended contract settlements with the unions that represent the school district's teacher aides and secretaries with the exception of provisions related to the employees' health insurance coverage.

At a special meeting Tuesday evening, the board took two votes on the contract settlements recommended by state-appointed fact finder John Skonier.

Regarding the Souderton Area Educational Support Personnel Association, which represents about 140 teacher aides, the board authorized a tentative agreement that approves the fact finder's report with the following exception:

"Employees who work seven or more hours a day and at least 170 days per school year shall be entitled to participate in the lowest cost teachers' health care plan for single employee benefits provided that the employees contribute 10 percent of the health care premium."

Regarding the approximately 50-member Souderton Area Secretaries Association, the tentative agreement was similar but with slightly different language dealing with how the employees are classified and whether the provisions of their employment were "tied to" the teacher aides union contract.

In addition, 10-month employees who work seven or more hours a day can participate in the lowest cost teachers' health plan for single coverage and a contribution of 10 percent of the premium cost.

The teachers currently have a choice of different health plans with different co-pay options and other features.

School board President Bernard S. Currie after the meeting was apologetically tight-lipped about the board's tentative agreement.

"All I can really talk about tonight is the fact that the board authorized a tentative agreement," he said. "I can't say any more about the details because the employees haven't had a chance to vote on it. It wouldn't be fair for them to read about it in the newspaper before they had a chance to vote on it."

When asked if some of the aides and secretaries have not had health care insurance, all Currie would say is "some have and some have not." He declined to elaborate.

Neither would Currie explain how the board's health care provision differed from the fact finder's recommendation to which the board took exception.

According to Gary Smith, the Pennsylvania State Education Association representative who has been working on contract negotiations with both unions, the secretaries were scheduled to vote on the fact finder's recommendation today and the teacher aides on Thursday.

Both unions have been working under the terms of contracts that expired in June 2008.

Meanwhile, the school board and the district's teachers union are awaiting the report of an arbitration panel aimed at resolving their contract impasse. The sticking points are salary and health insurance.