Brownsville teachers, board set to talk
BROWNSVILLE – The Brownsville Area School Board and negotiators for the striking teachers’ union have agreed to negotiate directly rather than through the district’s solicitor. The two sides met after Thursday night’s school board meeting and have scheduled talks for Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Talks pertaining to the current teachers’ strike began when John Ball, chief negotiator for the Brownsville Education Association (BEA), during pubic comment at Thursday’s meeting, asked what the district is paying Solicitor Matt Hoffman for handling negotiations for the board.
The answer was $8,653 to date and $85 per hour.
Some district residents in attendance said they did not want Hoffman negotiating a contract with the teachers.
“When you people knocked on my door, you wanted this job, and we were led to believe you would handle negotiations. We wouldn’t have voted for you if we didn’t think you were capable of negotiating a contract,” resident Billy Bane said to the board. “We put faith in you people to negotiate a contract. We don’t need an attorney.”
The teachers have worked without a contract for more than a year, and negotiations began in January 2001. The two parties had agreed to go back to the bargaining table Tuesday, more than a week after teachers initiated a strike. Ball has said the union’s negotiating team has primarily dealt with Hoffman throughout the talks.
Former board member Nena Kaminsky has been vocal on the issue and said this is the first time, to her knowledge, that the board has used a solicitor to negotiate contracts.
When questioned at Monday’s planning session, Hoffman said he was handling negotiations because the contract includes salaries from $55,000 to $60,000 and because the BEA has professional assistance provided by the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA).
“First off, no teacher in this room makes $55,000 to $60,000 a year. We are willing to ask Dan Shuman (PSEA representative) to step aside if you have Hoffman step aside, because neither one of them have a personal interest here. On Monday, you insinuated that the board-elect is not capable of handling negotiations, and if that’s the case, then the taxpayers should vote on people who are qualified,” Ball said Thursday.
Ball said he only recently found out that director Stella Broadwater was the district’s “chief negotiator,” because he has always dealt with Hoffman.
Broadwater said she was involved with negotiations in 1986 and believes the teachers got a fair contract that year. “I don’t consider myself incompetent. I just successfully negotiated a contract with the SEIU and administrative secretaries,” she said. “I’m ready to negotiate starting right now, tonight, Broadwater said.
It was Broadwater’s comments that got the ball rolling toward the negotiation session that followed the regular meeting.
Director Rocky Brashear said he could support Hoffman and Shuman stepping aside if the BEA members agreed to a secret vote the next time they vote on a contract proposal. President Andy Dorsey agreed with Brashear idea.
Ball replied, “I don’t sway our people one way or the other. I present the contract, that is it.”
Teacher Cheryl Kezmarsky said in reference to the secret ballot suggestion, “We’re all adults here. No one says anything if you vote against the majority.”
In the end, BEA’s negotiators met with Broadwater, Dorsey, Brashear, Markovich, fellow directors John Evans, Francine Pavone and Jim Brown and Superintendent Dr. Gerry Grant.
BEA President Carl Garofalo said after the meeting that he was optimistic and that the line of communication has been opened between the two sides. He said that from now on, the BEA and the board will negotiate directly with one another, as both parties agreed to have Hoffman and Shuman step aside.
Broadwater said, though, “In all fairness, Hoffman does what the board instructs him to do.”
Hoffman added, “I don’t’ think my involvement or Shuman’s have been an impediment to the district.”