JEFFERSON TWP — The striking South Butler teachers' salary and health insurance requests are affordable and would not necessitate a tax increase, according to a news release issued Tuesday afternoon.

Brooke Witt, the teachers' UniServ negotiator, said in the release that the district has the funds to:

-- Pay the teachers retroactively for the past three school years;

-- Give appropriate raises for the current school year; and

-- Move forward in a way that would not require a tax increase.

Neither district negotiator Tom Breth nor school board President Matthew Cimbala could be reached for comment late Tuesday afternoon to respond to Witt's release.

Witt said a bargaining session is scheduled Monday evening. That session is the first since March 14, the evening before the strike began.

To find out the latest, read Wednesday's Butler Eagle.