Freeport staff union continues calls for new contract alongside residents, aides
BUFFALO TWP — For the second meeting in a row, Freeport Area School District’s school board meeting had an audience dressed almost entirely in red.
The matching red shirts, which feature the logo of the Freeport Education Association, were worn by dozens of district teachers, counselors and nurses at the Wednesday, Oct. 14, school board meeting. The meeting was also attended by a number of residents and aides for the district, also wearing red in support.
The association represents 132 employees of the district and has been negotiating for a new contract since January. The previous contract expired June 30, leaving pay at the same level as August 2025 when the new school year began.
At the Sept. 9 board meeting, the association presented a petition signed by the vast majority of its members to the school board and administration. It called for the district to “settle a fair contract that will attract and retain qualified staff and focuses on our health and wellness.”
Now, staff members and residents are continuing to push for that contract.
John Lowry, a teacher and member of the union’s negotiating committee, spoke to raise concerns that the district’s salaries have fallen behind its neighbors.
“If we don’t keep up, we risk attrition of experienced staff and we won’t be able to attract staff to replace them,” he said.
He cited a Pittsburgh Business Times report that placed the district in the top 20 within Western Pennsylvania, but behind its neighboring districts in terms of compensation.
“As we’ve discussed in negotiations, we have fallen behind other top 20 districts in our region,” he said. “We are $7,000 below the average starting salary at other top 20 ranked districts. More than half of our members are at our top salary step with more than 15 years of experience, earning $18,000 below the average top salary at other top 20 districts.”
Lowry was joined by about a half-dozen residents and support aides who called on the district to support the union and the aides.
One such resident, Michele Paga, told the board teachers and education serve as the foundation of every other profession.
“Before there was a doctor, there was a teacher. Before there was an engineer, an attorney, a business owner or even a school superintendent, there was a teacher who helped that person learn, grow and believe in what they could become,” she said.
She encouraged the board and administration to imagine spending an entire day in a teacher’s shoes, rather than just a quick stop at a classroom.
“Stand in front of a classroom. Meet the academic, emotional and social needs of every child. Handle the interruptions, the constant demands and the responsibility of knowing that what you can do today can shape a child’s tomorrow. Then, go home, prepare your lessons and get ready to do it all over again,” she said
Paga called on the board and administration to do more than simply thank teachers for their work, but rather show that appreciation through contract negotiations.
“I ask this board to remember who is at the heart of this district,” she said.
The district and the association have another bargaining session scheduled for Oct. 28.
