Despite a nearly four hour meeting earlier this week during which two separate contract proposals were advanced, the teachers union and the Phoenixville Area School District were unable to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, according to district spokeswoman Sandra Claus.

Negotiation teams representing the Phoenixville Area Education Association and the district met on January 23 from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. The PAEA began with a contract proposal, which the district considered during a recess, then countered with a proposal of their own. The teachers union rejected this counter-proposal, then declined to set a date for future negotiations.

The school district’s offer can be viewed here. A comparison of the positions, authored by the district, can be viewed here.

Below is a press release from PASD outlining the situation. 

The Phoenixville Area School District Board of School Directors has been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the Phoenixville Area Education Association since January 2010.  As we committed to you, the Board will be providing regular public updates as the negotiations process continues.

The parties met on January 23, 2013, from 6:00 pm until about 9:45 p.m.  In addition to the two negotiating teams, the session was attended by Mr. William Gross, Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation, who has been working with the parties during this collective bargaining process since September.

At Wednesday evening’s session, the PAEA presented a Counter Proposal to the District.  Following a caucus, the District responded with its own Counter Proposal.  In the District’s opinion, this Counter Proposal represented significant movement on the part of the District, further reinforcing the Board’s desire to reach a settlement with PAEA.  The District’s complete Counter Proposal has been posted on the District Website under the “Negotiations” tab.  For your reference and review, we have also posted a detailed comparison of the parties’ most recent offers on the PASD website: www.pasd.com

Following the presentation of the District’s Counter Proposal to the PAEA, the parties caucused.  The District provided Director Gross with five potential bargaining dates in February.  The District was then informed by Director Gross that the PAEA rejected the District’s Counter Offer and would not discuss dates for future bargaining sessions.

It is the District’s hope that the PAEA will agree to return to the bargaining table and continue to work with us to resolve this contract situation in the near future.

We will continue to keep you apprised of all developments in this matter as they happen, and will continue to work hard to achieve a fair settlement.