Knoch DME

The Knoch Education Association said in a news release it has filed an unfair labor practice grievance with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board against Knoch School District.

The grievance, filed on April 22, was accepted by the PLRB and will face a hearing, scheduled for Sept. 16. During the hearing, the board will receive testimony in support and defense of the charges within the grievance. Charges are related to the parties’ ongoing collective bargaining dispute.

It was last reported in April that contract negotiations were at a standstill due to a disagreement over language regarding when vision and dental benefits kick in. Current negotiations are for an agreement that would be recognized as effective from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2029.

Months ago, the Knoch Education Association filed a request for fact-finding when the parties were unable to reach a collective bargaining agreement due to disagreements on multiple issues. A fact-finding report establishing the framework for an agreement was issued this past September, and the union and district accepted the report in October 2025. Three months later, the school board said it would sign off on an agreement.

But in April, it was reported the agreement was held up. Board President Donna Eakin said at the time the board had not received any communication from the teachers union since it signed off on the contract.

According to the charge filed by the Knoch Education Association, dental and vision improvements were “mutually agreed upon” during the fact-finding process and were “reflected consistently in draft versions of the collective bargaining agreement” exchanged between the parties.

The Knoch Education Association claims the district later introduced new language into the final version of the agreement that delayed implementation of dental and vision benefit improvements until July 1, 2026, despite that language not being part of the accepted fact-finding report or prior draft agreements.

The education association claims it has provided evidence the district unilaterally changed agreed-upon language from the fact-finding report, then “executed the changed agreement and presented to the association president for signature with no notification of the changes.”

“The accepted report included provisions for delayed implementation of certain items, including healthcare changes, early retirement incentives and supplemental wages. The report did not include any recommendation to delay implementation of agreed-upon improvements to dental or vision benefits,” the news release said.

Tom Breth, the school board’s solicitor, has repeatedly said that, from the district’s point of view, it has complied with the report. He confirmed the contract was presented to union President Ian Babb back in February.

“The board signed the agreement and sent it in February. This is the response that we’ve received from them,” Breth said May 15. “It’s baseless and we’ll deal with it in front of the labor board.”

Breth also called the efforts a waste of taxpayer money.

“The board has said, this is our position and they decided to take it with labor board. We welcome this opportunity to have a hearing, because we’ll have testimony. The record will become public record and we’ll see what the labor board officer has to decide,” Breth said. “The board is always willing to defend it’s position with respect to labor negotiations. We welcome this opportunity.”

Brooke Witt, the union’s representative with the Pennsylvania State Education Association, could not be immediately reached for further comment.