Support staff and school board ‘close to an agreement’

PENNSBURY – Pennsbury School Board solicitor and chief negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik said the district and its support staff union, Pennsbury Educational Support Professionals Association (PESPAF, are, “close to an agreement.”

Sultanik, said that at the request of John Cairns, state mediator, PESPA and the school district’s negotiating team voluntarily agreed to a media blackout regarding details of these negotiations while the parWLHV FRnWLnuH WR wRUN Rn VSHFLfiF FRnWUDFW language.

Gary McClure, PESPA president, was not immediately available for comment.

In a school district press release, Sultanik VDLG, “SLJnLfiFDnW SURJUHVV wDV PDGH DW WhH bargaining table and we believe that the parties are close to an agreement.”

Representatives from PESPA met faceto-face on June 28 with Sultanik to present their latest concrete proposal for a labor agreement.

The nearly TMM-member support staff union, which includes full- and part-time secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, IT sup- port technicians and other staff members, has been working without a contract under “status quo” since June, 2M11.

Should the language be worked out, PESPA will not be in a position to formally ratify any agreement until sometime in August when bargaining unit members are available to vote.

“The school board,” Sultanik said, “will not act on any potential contract until such time that the union members ratify.”

The board’s next public meeting is scheduled for August 29.

In May, the two groups did not meet face-to-face. Rather, Cairns moved back and forth between rooms where both teams were gathered.

The district administration at that time was expected to share detailed costing information that would give both parties the tools to generate more savings needed to avoid moving forward with subcontracting of bargaining unit services, according to Sultanik. 2nH RI WhH NHy LVVuHV LV hHDlWh EHnHfiWV. The parties were having “constructive GLVFuVVLRnV” DERuW hHDlWh EHnHfiW SURYL- sions for the successor contract,” Sultanik said in May.

7hH GLVWULFW’V hHDlWh EHnHfiWV FRnVulWDnW, Stalker and Associates, had been contacted, as Sultanik put it, “to engage in detailed costing of proposed options to see if we can achieve the level of savings required to avoid the subcontracting of bargaining unit services.”

The district is self-insured and contracts with Independence Blue Cross.

At the recent bargaining session, several Pennsbury administrators were in atten- dance with Sultanik to answer questions if needed.

They were Business Administrator Daniel Rodgers, Human Resources Director Bettie Ann Rarrick, and Joanne Godzieba, director of cinancial Services.

Present at the meeting to represent PESPA were: UNISERs representative Brad Gross, PESPA President McClure, and PESPA members Marla Lipkin, Denise Hacker and Brian Russell.

The state mediator was also in attendance GuULnJ WhH DlPRVW fiYH-hRuU VHVVLRn.