A large crowd turned out Wednesday night for the regular March meeting of the South Butler School Board, with some people holding signs showing their support for the striking teachers.

JEFFERSON TWP — While the ongoing teachers strike was the biggest topic of discussion at Wednesday night's South Butler School Board meeting, two other contracts were mentioned as well.

Tom Breth, the school board's solicitor and negotiator, told a packed primary center cafeteria that a tentative early bird collective bargaining agreement with the district's Service Employees International Union workers was reached at the March 8 bargaining session and reviewed and finalized at Tuesday's session.

The board approved the agreement Wednesday night. Breth said the union is expected to sign the four-year contract next week.

The term of the contract runs from July 1, when the current contract expires, to June 30, 2022.

The employees will receive a 40-cent raise in the 2018-19 school year and 50 cents each year thereafter, plus a $250 supplemental wage payment in July for each employee.

The employees and district will continue to split the cost of health care bills until individual employees reach $1,250 out of pocket and $2,500 out of pocket for those with family coverage.

However, the district going forward will provide health care only for individual employees. Family coverage can be purchased by the employee if desired, Breth said.

The change will affect those whose first day of work is after June 30 or who are not eligible for health care before July 1.

Existing employees with family coverage will not lose their family health benefits.

Regarding health care contributions, Breth said the SEIU employees will pay $70 for individual coverage beginning in 2018-19 and pay $10 more each year through the term of the contract.

In the 2021-22 school year, employees will pay $100 for individual health care premiums.

Vacation accrual was revised for new hires as well, with a maximum of three weeks vacation for employees who have worked at the district for 15 years. Current employees will retain the former system of four weeks vacation after 15 years.

Regarding sick leave, new hires will earn one sick day per two months worked. Existing employees will continue to earn one sick day per one month worked, Breth said.

The SEIU employees will be eligible for six unpaid sick days if they exhaust their paid sick time.

Retirement incentives to encourage the more highly paid custodians and maintenance workers to retire and make way for workers on a lower pay scale will be offered by the board at some point during the contract, Breth said.

Breth said he and the board appreciate the collective bargaining with the SEIU employees.

“This was a very professional bargaining session,” Breth said.

He also announced that while the board wants to meet with the South Butler County Educational Support Professional Association, the 50 to 55 secretaries, special education paraprofessionals, library aides, teachers' aides and single health technician in the union are refusing to meet until a teachers contract is hammered out in the district.Breth said the two sides have not met for a year. He said the board is proposing an eight-year contract retroactive to 2014 for the 50 to 55 employees.Changes in the proposal regarding the number of hours in a workday and work year would benefit two groups in the union.“This will bring the special education paraprofessionals and the library aides into full-time status,” Breth said.But like the SEIU employees, new hires, paraprofessionals and library aides in the support union would be offered health care for individuals only. Secretaries and the health technician would be grandfathered in and continue to receive family coverage from the district, Breth said.Regarding wages, Breth said secretaries, special education paraprofessionals, library aides and the health technician would receive a $500 payment per year for the years worked between 2014 and now. Teachers aides would receive a payment of $250.On July 1, secretaries would receive a wage increase of $1.25 per hour, special education paraprofessionals, library aides and teachers aides $2.50 per hour, and the health technician $1.25 per hour.All of the union's employees would receive a 40-cent increase in each year thereafter.Starting salaries would be increased in the board's proposal as well.Secretaries would start at $12 per hour instead of the current $10, special education paraprofessionals $11 instead of $9, library aides and teachers' aides $10 instead of $9 and the health technician $15 instead of the current $14.The vacation policy would mirror the SEIU's policy.At the designated question-and-answer period at the end of Wednesday's meeting, a number of individuals said they were upset that only individual health insurance would be offered moving forward.One woman took the board to task for eliminating family health care for employees making $9 to $11 per hour.“I don't understand what kind of community this is that we want to stick it to our employees like that,” she said. “It's sad.”Board member George Zacherl told the woman the board voted in favor of it because the union representatives agreed to it and such a health care offering is within industry standards.In answering a similar question from another audience member, Breth said the Butler and Mars school districts offered individual-only coverage to their support union as did the Ellwood City School District, which is not in negotiations with its support personnel.

Roughly half the room hold signs supporting the teachers at the regular March meeting of the South Butler County school board on Wednesday.