Brownsville Area teachers to strike Monday
BROWNSVILLE – Brownsville Area School District teachers, who have worked without a contract for more than a year, will strike Monday after contract negotiations failed last week. The Brownsville Education Association formally notified the district of the strike Friday.
As a result, district officials said all classes will be canceled throughout the strike, except those operated at other facilities, such as the Fayette County Area Vocational-Technical School, Intermediate Unit 1, New Directions, Success Academy and others.
Interscholastic athletic events and practices are expected to continue as scheduled.
The effect on other scheduled activities will be determined and announced, officials said.
A written statement issued by the district through its solicitor, Matthew Hoffman, read, “The board of school directors recognize the disruption and inconvenience that will ensue from the BEA’s strike and is disappointed that the teachers perceive a strike as being advantageous to their bargaining objectives.”
According to the district, the strike follows the union’s disapproval of two separate tentative agreements reached between the two negotiating teams and the rejection of a “reasonable and competitive settlement.”
According to the statement released by the district, the last proposal rejected by the teachers would have provided an average annual salary increase of $2,048 (or $10,238 over five years) and fully paid health insurance through the Select Blue managed care plan.
Hoffman said the salary increases are averages and that the actual increase depends on a teacher’s individual salary schedule.
The last proposal also offered an early-retirement incentive, including a $33,200 supplement to the teachers’ fixed pension benefits provided by the state, payment for unused sick leave and a $300 monthly contribution toward insurance costs for seven years.
Hoffman said teachers also receive another $100 payment toward insurance from the state’s teachers’ retirement system. He did not know how long those payments are made.
About one-third of the district’s 150 teachers are eligible for early retirement.
The union’s main sticking points are salaries, health care and early-retirement incentives, according to a source who requested anonymity.
Superintendent Dr. Gerry Grant and several board members were optimistic about an offer presented to the union in late September, and they expected the union to accept it, but it was voted down unanimously.
Last week, Hoffman said the board presented its “final best offer,” which included modifications to the tentative agreement the union voted down in September.
John Ball, BEA’s chief negotiator, said before negotiations last week that the meeting would determine if the union would strike.
In previous interviews, Ball said the union voted last year to give the negotiating team authorization to call a strike, but the teachers began the school year without a contract after negotiations failed during summer break. The teachers worked without a contract last year and have undergone two pay freezes in the last five years. They also have contended that they are the lowest paid teachers in Fayette County.
Although the union has not formally presented the main sticking points, some teachers, on the condition of anonymity, did speak while the board met in executive session at a September meeting.
According to the teachers, money matters are not the main issue. They admitted that health care is an issue, and they also voiced their concerns and frustrations about their current working conditions, saying they are overcrowded, teaching out of converted teachers’ lounges and eating out of converted closets, issues that were listed in a letter they distributed to the public last week, days before their final negotiation meeting.
The board was upset with the BEA’s decision to distribute that letter, saying the union used a mailing list from the district’s database, which is a breach of state and federal confidentiality requirements. But Grant said the board would not hold their opinions on the distributed letter against the union during negotiations.
The BEA’s letter also stated that teachers, through an informal poll, found that they spend about $258 of their own money per year and donate about 209 hours of their free time to the district.
Director Stella Broadwater said she doesn’t think the teachers are asking for much, but she would not detail what they are seeking.
“It’s not much,” she said. “They’re frustrated; they want a contract. I sympathize with that. They deserve a contract. They’ve waited an awful long time.
“I believe this is going to hurt our students,” Broadwater said, adding that students may be forced to attend school until as late as June 15 because of the strike.
According to Hoffman, a strike can continue for an estimated 10 to 15 days. State law regulates the number and duration of teacher strikes to ensure that students receive the scheduled 180 days of instruction, thus limiting the period of a strike.
Hoffman said the district will announce when classes will resume, once that date is determined.