Teachers sign three year pact, forgo increase in first year

MORRISVILLE BOROUGH – Teachers will forgo a salary increase in the first year of a threeyear pact approved by the school board on Sept. 26.

Union members, who approved the agreement on Tuesday, also agreed to contribute more toward health care.

The vote was 8-1 with school board member David Stoneburner casting the only vote against the contract.

The Morrisville Education Association (MEA) represents 69 teachers, including a psychologist, two guidance counselors and a school nurse. Starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $45,896, while a teacher with 14 years of experience in the district, a master’s degree, plus 30 credits, can earn $97,602.

While there are no salary increases or percentage increases in the first year of the contract, 2012-13, increments come in the second and third years of the contract.

In 2013-14, there will be a step or salary increase between two percent and eight percent and a percent increase for experienced teachers on Step 12.

In 2014-15, a delay step increase is scheduled to take effect on the 15th pay of the school year and a .25 percent increase at the start of the school year.

The MEA agreed to an increased contribution toward healthcare benefits. Currently, Morrisville teachers contribute 10 percent toward their healthcare benefits, a percentage that remains the same in the first year of the new contract, but they will contribute an additional 3 percent in 2013-14, and another 3 percent in 2014-15, for a total of 16 percent.

The negotiators agreed that a review of the district’s finances by all parties was instrumental in reaching an agreement on a new contract. The previous contract expired on Aug. 31. As part of the negotiating process, the teams met early in February with district business manager Paul DeAngelo, according to school district superintendent Bill Ferrara.

“Aside from the willingness of all parties involved, the transparency of the process helped establish the trust factor between the teams. This enabled all our negotiations to be open and honest,” Ferrara said.

The school superintendent added, “The new contract is an example of cooperation between two groups of people with specific interests, but a common interest — continuing to offer a quality education to the students of Morrisville. It was a great accomplishment.”

“This is a good contract for the teachers and the school district,” added school board president John DeWilde, who was also a member of the negotiating team.

“I want to commend the members of the MEA for their diligence and commitment to a positive approach to an extremely difficult process,” he said.

“Both groups were committed to maintaining transparency, to clearly defining what was desired and willing to compromise when necessary,” De Wilde continued. “We were able to negotiate in this manner, unlike some other school districts that have had more difficulty and continue to have difficulty reaching agreement.”

MEA president Drew King, who has been involved in four other contract negotiations, agreed. “One thing that made this process a bit easier was, from the beginning, both sides were up front with their needs and their concerns. I think this threeyear contract works well for the association and the district.”

In other news, the school board voted unanimously to approve a contract for the intermediate school playground. T.W. South, which bid $5,015 (plus time and material), got the job, but the board stipulated that the school district would not pay more than $5,500.

“This is for excavations,” Stoneburner emphasized.

Board member Damon Miller said, “I don’t know if we’re going to have them do the installation xof playground equipmentz at $30 per hour,” he said.

School board member Jack Buckman criticized fellow board members, who thought the bids were on the high side. Before the vote was called, he saidW “We’ll never get the job done.”

The high bidder was W.D.B. Landscaping at $7,180.

The playground at M.R. Reiter Elementary School, which has not been used for several years due to a furnace explosion at the school, is being disassembled. Part of it will be used at the intermediate school where some elementary school students attend classes. The equipment at M.R. Reiter meets standards for playground, according to the school district.

The PTO presented a check Wednesday night to the school board for $5,000 toward the playground.