S. Butler, teachers settle contract
JEFFERSON TWP — The four-year labor dispute between South Butler School District and its teachers is over.
The 167 teachers who make up the South Butler School District Education Association voted on Wednesday to accept a contract created by a three-member nonbinding arbitration panel. Representatives for the teachers union declined to provide specific totals from the vote, which was held at the district's primary school late Wednesday afternoon.
Teachers' acceptance of the panel's proposed contract brings to a close nearly four years of arguments over issues like wage increases, health care costs and the length of teachers' in-service days.
School board members voted 7-2 last week to approve the panel's proposed contract.
In a news release issued Wednesday night, Ian Babb, the president of the association, said he is glad the stalemate is over but thinks the contract is still lacking.
“While I am glad that we can move forward from this point with a strategy to effectuate a real change in this district, the new contract is not what we had hoped for, nor is it an accurate reflection of what the teachers should have earned in these last four years,” Babb said in the release.
“That being said, we feel our efforts will be better spent creating a new culture at the South Butler School District that will start with attempting to build a relationship with the administration and recruiting pro-public education candidates to run for future school board elections.”
School board President Matt Cimbala found out about the teachers' decision on the way home from Wednesday night's school board meeting.
“I'm very pleased to hear that,” Cimbala said. “It's been a long four years.”
He said although much bickering in the community and on social media accompanied the stalemate, the two sides avoided such behavior during the negotiations.
“I want to thank the teachers who were part of the negotiating team,” Cimbala said. “We all worked very hard over the last four years and we were always respectful at the bargaining table.”
Cimbala went on to say that he thinks the contract is a good one.
“I think it's a fair deal for the district, the teachers and the taxpayers,” Cimbala said.
Brooke Witt, the UniServ representative who negotiated for the teachers, said last month that she had faith that the three men who comprised the arbitration panel could get the job done because of their experience.
The panel was comprised of Tom King, a longtime attorney and solicitor for many county school boards, representing the school board; Pat Andrekovich, an experienced UniServ negotiator in the county who represented the teacher's union; and Pittsburgh attorney and state-certified arbitrator David Breen as the neutral panel member.
Among the items in the new contract are an eight-year retroactive contract that expires on June 30, 2022; increased health care costs for teachers; and movement up the pay levels, or “steps,” in all but the first year of the contract.
The teachers went on strike in March, which extended the current school year to Friday, which is the last day of school in the district.
Nonbinding arbitration is the step taken following a strike, according to state law.
