MV contract recommendations released

BY STACI WILSON

The Mountain View School Board and the MV Education Association have found common ground. Both rejected the recommendations put forth by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board fact finder – continuing the stalemate between the two.

The PLRB released its report Thursday with recommendations to settle the ongoing contract battle between the Mountain View School District and the teacher’s association.

The school board voted to reject the fact-finding report at a meeting held Monday, Oct. 6. The Mountain View Education Association has also rejected the report.

The professional staff’s previous contract expired over two years ago on June 30, 2012.

After failing to come to terms, an impasse was declared and the board and teachers’ union proceeded to fact-finding at the request of the district.

Robert J. Millett acted as the fact finder for the PLRB; and Daniel O’Rourke served as the mediator in the matter.

According to the PLRB report, the contract dispute hinges on 14 points, including the contract term, salary schedule, retirement incentives and medical insurance.

The union requested a seven-year contract; while the board offered terms for five years.

Millett recommended a five-year agreement, expiring June 30, 2017, due to the uncertainty of school funding along with rising health care and pension costs.

Currently, professional staff is scheduled to work 187 days a year, with two after school meetings each month. MVEA would like to eliminate the two monthly meetings.

The recommendation from PLRB was to keep with the 187 day year, and eliminate one of the monthly after school meetings.

The district also proposed introducing a new, more indexed, salary schedule with no retroactivity for year 1; a 4% increase in year 2 with no step movement; a 3.9% increase inclusive of step year 3; 3.4% increase inclusive of step year 4; and a 2.9 % increase inclusive of step year 5.

The union is looking for a 3.25% increase each year on the old matrix.

According to the report, many districts and associations have attempted to move to an indexed salary scheduled but the cost of doing so was prohibitive. The recommendation noted that the district was will to do so with “a higher than average settlement.”

The report also states the fact-finder understands the association’s “reluctance” to add steps to the schedule, but said it could allow for more productive bargaining in the future.

With the recommendation to accept the district’s proposed salary changes, the report indicated that the board’s plan to abolish the entire retirement incentive “is too much to ask of the Association and its members.”

The PLRB fact-finder recommended adopting the union’s proposed less costly incentive.

Currently, members of MVEA pay four percent of their insurance premium, and are willing, according to the report to increase the contribution to six percent, effective July 15.

The board is looking to increase the contribution to 11 percent, retroactive to July 1, 2013.

According to the report, the board’s rational for proposing the seven percent hike is that the district premium share is “much lower than the private sector.”

However, the fact-finder recommendation stated that the current four percent is “one of the highest in the Intermediate Unit.”

A compromise recommendation of a six percent increase, retroactive to July 1, 2014 was recommended in the PLRB report.