ADAMS TWP — With a contract set to expire June 30, Mars Area School District’s board and the teachers’ union still have disagreements to overcome in negotiations, including healthcare benefits and salary issues.

Representatives of the Mars Area Education Association are set to meet with the district’s negotiating team Thursday, June 11. Hollie Meckler, the education association’s vice president, said Wednesday afternoon the two sides have held 20 bargaining sessions over the past year.

At this point, some concessions and agreements have been made by both sides. But disagreements regarding teachers’ compensation and benefits remain.

“And as we welcome those new employees, we hope that they don’t begin their first day of work without a contract,” Meckler said at Tuesday’s board meeting. “We urge the board to make a fair offer on Thursday, so that this contract can be settled before students and staff return in the fall.”

Jennifer DiCuccio, a board member who is on the district’s bargaining team, discussed where negotiations stand Tuesday night, out of a desire to be transparent to the community and taxpayers. She proposed information be available on the district’s website.

The district is proposing a three-year agreement with the teachers. The MAEA is countering with a five-year proposal.

Health insurance costs are a big sticking point in negotiations.

“I’d highlight that the three-year proposal on our half is because of the cost of health insurance. It has been consistently high. Without any guarantees in payment for the health insurance, it makes it hard to be able to plan the future,” DiCuccio said.

Built-in salary increases are another main, unresolved issue. DiCuccio said the district is proposing 3.5% wage increases for the 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.

Meanwhile, the teachers are proposing a 6% increase in 2026-27, 5.5% in 2027-28 and 2028-29, 5.25% in 2029-30 and 5% in 2030-31.

DiCuccio estimated the district’s salaries proposal would cost $1.8 million over three years. She estimated the union’s proposal would increase district spending by approximately $5.4 million over five years.

There have been some agreements between the district and teachers. This includes removing coverage of GLP-1 weight loss medications. But union leaders have pointed to concessions made over the years and expressed concerns with the district’s current proposal.

“We’ve had 20 bargaining sessions, we’ve been negotiating for well over a year. We’ve made considerable concessions to address concerns over healthcare costs,” Meckler said Wednesday. “We’ve been willing to work with them, but their proposal would leave us falling behind. We’d be going backward next year.”

Meckler and Joe Graff, president of MAEA, have previously advocated for a contract that “keeps teachers from leaving for neighboring districts.”

Meckler said if an agreement is not reached by June 30, she is hoping the two sides maintain discussions through the summer and reach an agreement before August. “We don’t want to start the new year without a contract,” she said.

“We’re asking that we don’t see a loss in compensations, that’s what we’re asking for,” Meckler said. “We provide a high-quality education, we’re number one in Butler County. Our goal is simple, we want competitive salaries with neighboring districts.”

Mars’ school board approved its budget for the 2026-27 year Tuesday night, which will total $69.79 million in spending — an increase of over $4 million from last year. The district is projected to spend roughly $28.33 million in employee salaries and just over $20 million in employee benefits.

The only other board member to speak extensively Tuesday night was Joe Joswiak, a former teacher. He pointed to the district’s existing fund balance of $11 million and advocated for finding middle ground with the teachers’ union.

“We’re doing our job right, but we got to start treating everyone here fairly. The morale here is not great. We’re a great district, and the reason people want to be here is because the teachers are good teachers, the people are good here, we need to be fair,” Joswiak said.