Scranton teachers union working on counterproposal

Kathleen Bolus, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·2 min read

Jul. 20—The Scranton teachers union is working on a proposal to counter the district's most recent offer to settle its expired teachers contract.

The Scranton School District gave the union until 4 p.m. Thursday to accept a proposal outlined in a statement last week and prompted by an additional $5.7 million in state funding.

Union president Rosemary Boland said Monday she hopes to have a counterproposal to the district before the deadline. She did not provide details but said the executive board is working on its offer.

In September, the 700 teachers in the district are set to start their fifth school year without a contract.

In the most recent offer from the district released Thursday, teachers would move two retroactive steps, with retroactive pay from the start of the 2020-21 school year. The proposal includes a total of five step movements through the 2023-24 school year, with a 1.5% increase to the salary scale over the life of the contract. Teachers typically move one step — which is based on years of service and experience — per year before reaching top scale.

District officials asked union leaders to bring the proposal to the general membership for consideration, according to the statement. The union will not vote on the proposal before the July 22 deadline, Boland said last week. The union also has concerns with the proposed change in health insurance.

The district will also offer its other employee groups raises through the additional funding.

Scranton will receive the additional $5.7 million annually in the Pennsylvania's 2022 budget, which increased basic and special education funding through the Level Up initiative, according to a district statement released Monday. The initiative is providing $100 million to the 100 most underfunded districts, which includes Scranton. The district is currently in financial recovery.

The Scranton School District Recovery Plan outlines a framework by which windfall revenues may be allocated, according to Monday's statement. The plan defines windfall revenue as "an unanticipated increase in funding from the Commonwealth."

The additional funding was considered in the updated proposal sent to the Scranton Federation of Teachers and the same must be offered to the other employee groups, the statement says.

"In the coming days, the Chief Recovery Officer will calculate the amount of funding which can be directed to the existing contracts for the SEIU 32 BJ, Act 93 and contracted administrators," according to the statement.

The board will hold personnel and budget and finance committee meetings Wednesday beginning at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. For more details or instructions to join, visit www.scrsd.org.

Contact the writer:

kbolus@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5114;

@kbolusTT on Twitter.