Teachers' Pact Extended As Negotiations Continue

By Joyce Vottima Hellberg, Special to The Inquirer
Posted: June 27, 1991

Facing a contract expiration Sunday, Tredyffrin/Easttown teachers and the district school board have agreed to extend the current pact while negotiations continue.

Paul Slaninka, president of the Tredyffrin/Easttown Education Association, said that the TEEA had requested such an extension in a letter to the school board and that the board had agreed to it.

"The teachers will continue doing workshops, teaching summer school and all the other normal services done during the summer," said Slaninka, whose group represents 322 teachers. "We're hopeful there will be a contract this summer or at the latest by Labor Day."

Slaninka said both sides had agreed that the new contract should be for three years, but the district and TEEA had agreed not to release any other information about the negotiations.

Board President Mary Ellen Mittelstaedt said she was encouraged by the progress.

"We're continuing to talk to try and resolve the issues," she said. "We hope to have another (negotiating) meeting sometime in July, but we haven't found a date when everyone can meet yet."

After more than 12 negotiating sessions since January, wages and benefits remain the main stumbling blocks.

Under the present two-year contract, the average starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience was $28,500 this year. The

average salary was $46,500 for a teacher with 22 years' experience.

The district has never had a teachers' strike, but Slaninka said the teachers had voted to authorize a strike for Sept. 4, the first student day, if an agreement is not reached.

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