PASD Teacher Contract Details Posted on Website

The new contract between the Phoenixville Area School District teacher's union and the PASD Board was ratified last week.

Only after the vote were details made public.  If you have not seen it yet, here are highlights as outlined by the school district:

The new collective bargaining agreement, which is effective from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2016, essentially continues the terms and conditions of the recently ratified contract that is in effect through June 30, 2014, with a few noteworthy changes. 

Under the terms of the new contract:

• There is no increase to the existing salary schedule; 
• Bargaining unit members will move one-half (1/2) step on the salary schedule in the 2014-15 school year and one-half (1/2) step in the 2015-16 school year.  
• Members at the top step of the salary schedule each year will receive a one-time payment in the amount of $750.  (On average, this represents an annual increase of approximately 1.5-2% per bargaining unit member). 
  In the current contract, bargaining unit members pay seven percent (7%) of the total medical costs (hospitalization, major medical, prescription, vision and dental) of their unit.  
• Under the terms of the new contract, bargaining unit members will pay ten percent (10%) of their total medical costs in the 2014-15 school year and eleven percent (11%) of their total medical costs in the 2015-16 school year.  
• The current health plan (Blue Cross PC 20/30/70) will continue and the new three-tiered prescription plan also remains unchanged (including mandatory use of generic medications and mail order prescriptions when available).
• As evidenced by the ratification of this agreement, combined with the recent settlement of a new five year contract with union that represents the District’s secretaries, custodial and maintenance staff, and the finalization earlier this year of the Act 93 Compensation Plan for the District’s administrators, the District has made great strides in maintaining labor peace while holding down cost for the taxpayers.  

At this time, only the union representing the aides and technology staff continues to operate under an expired contract, and negotiations between that union and the District are ongoing.

According to a press release from the School District, School Board President Josh Gould stated:  “I appreciate the PAEA taking the initiative to request early discussions.  With this agreement and the agreement that was ratified last Fall, we continue to maintain a balance between keeping taxes as low as possible, rewarding our current teachers for the high quality of their work, and keeping the District competitive in salary and benefits so we can continue to attract the best teachers.”