H-H School District Presents Informal Teacher Contract Proposal

A vote on a new contract for teachers could come Monday, officials said.

Following several informal negotiation sessions, the district presented an informal proposal to the Hatboro-Horsham Education Association, the union representing the district’s more than 400 teachers. Union leadership is expected to present the proposal to its members Friday and a vote to accept or reject it is slated for Monday, according to a joint press release issued on behalf of the district and union.   

If HHEA approves the proposal, the Hatboro-Horsham School Board would then vote to accept or reject it at .

Superintendent Curtis Griffin and Director of Business Affairs Bob Reichert have been meeting informally with union officials since last week, hoping to address the sticking points of salary and benefits. The latest informal proposal was finalized Tuesday. Details about the offer will not be released until after the union membership has had time to review it, according to the press release. 

"We are pleased that the informal process has led to a break-through in the negotiation process, which began over two years ago," Griffin said in the press release. "We feel confident that the proposal will be one our professional staff and our community will embrace given the financial challenges school districts are facing at this time."

District teachers have been working under the terms of their old contract, which expired June 30, 2009. 

The HHEA voted down the district’s last informal proposal, which was made in November 2010. HHEA Union President Jackie Anderson said she was glad to have something to share with members after several months of talks. 

"I'm really very relieved I'm going to be able to have something to bring back to members," she said. "This has been a very long and difficult process."

When reached Wednesday afternoon to check on the status of informal talks, Anderson, who has, for the most part, commented on the negotiation process, said only, “We met. You will be receiving a joint e-mail blast from the district and HHEA.”

In the release, school board president Barbara LaSorsa said the proposal, if approved by both sides, offers fair compensation and benefits to professional staff members, while also meeting the board's goals of maintaining fiscal responsibility and quality educational programming.

"From the very beginning, the school board has made it a priority to establish a contract with teachers that is fair not only to our employees, but to the taxpayers who fund a majority of our budget," said LaSorsa. "We believe that this most recent offer strikes that balance and will enable us to continue delivering the academic programs our students deserve."

Following the union's rejection of the last informal proposal in November, the School Board had expressed a desire to return to formal negotiations in January. A formal negotiation session involving both sides' negotiators had been set for Thursday, but has been canceled. The formal process will only resume if either side rejects the latest informal proposal.