Union President: Second Informal Contract Negotiation ‘Went Well’

administrators met with union leaders for approximately two hours on Wednesday in an informal session aimed at working through issues separating both sides from finalizing a teacher contract.

Jackie Anderson, president of the Hatboro-Horsham Education Association, which represents the district's more than 400 teachers, said Wednesday's session "went well."

"We’re still trying to see if we can work something out before we go to formal negotiations," Anderson said. "We’ve got a lot of the smaller items that I think we’re comfortable with."

The sticking point, as always, continues to be salary and benefits, Anderson said. 

"They’re always what you work on to the bitter end," she said. 

Wednesday's meeting was a follow-up to a session held Friday. Union officials provided Superintendent Curtis Griffin and Director of Business Affairs Bob Reichert with feedback on some of the issues discussed at last week's meeting. Talks continue to be "cordial," according to a release issued on behalf of the school district and both sides confirmed that another informal session is being planned for either the latter part of this week, or early next week.

"It depends on how long it takes both sides to run some numbers," Anderson said. "We want to convene as soon as we possibly can."

Asked what made the last two informal sessions so promising in the nearly 2-year-old teacher contract stalemate, Anderson said "there is a great desire" among the parties meeting to finalize a new contract. 

For the time being, Anderson said her informal meetings with district officials involves "talking."

"If we can get some agreements it might turn to proposals," she said. 

Both sides are scheduled to return to formal negotiations with legal counsel on April 14.