Li
The Dallas Post
Dallas, PA Thursday, April 25,2002 3
xtra work
ntineud from page 1)
after school events and activ-
ities including dances, athletic
.events, band, class trips and
‘Clubs and organizations, said
‘Dan Williams, president of the
ELEA..
“Sometimes it takes these
type of actions to pique [the
“ommunity’s] interest,”
‘Williams said. Williams said he
felt it was time for parents and
‘community members to be-
‘come more involved and aware
of “how much we actually do
for little or no pay.”
7" Some of the year-end activi-
~~ fies and events that might be
affected by the action of the
TLEA include the senior class
frip to Washington, D.C., the
Prom, Class Night, and the Ju-
@ ior and Senior Honor Society
‘thductions.
However, School Board Presi-
dent Charles Boytin said the
administration has set about a
plan, through Superintendent
Robert O. Roberts, to “ensure
that the kids don’t lose all their
extracurriculars.” Boytin
added, “We're going to attempt
to maintain as much normalcy
for the children as possible.”
Roberts’ plan of action in-
"cludes assigning school admin-
istrative = personnel, school
board members and parent vol-
unteers, primarily from the
parent/teacher organizations,
to chaperone and assist with
student activities.
+ “We have approximately eight
field trips that either start be-
Le, or end after the school
"day,” said Roberts. These trips
include a Lake-Noxen Elemen-
tary School fifth grade trip to
the Philadelphia zoo, a sixth
grade Lake-Noxen Elementary
frip to Baltimore and a sixth
grade Lehman-Jackson Ele-
mentary trip to Philadelphia.
These trips have been taken
care of, as well as the senior’s
class trip to Washington, D.C.,
Bud 10-13.
“What were doing now is
We're working on the junior,
sophomore, and freshman
class trips,” Roberts explained.
“We have some administrators
assigned to those trips and we
have put out a letter to the var-
ious PTA’s and PTO’s asking for
volunteers to help, us out.”
. Roberts said the prom and
® graduation are not in any dan-
the
ger of” cancellation ‘ as
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teachers will fulfill all agree-
ments about contractual posi-
tions, allowing the junior class
advisor to chaperone the prom,
while graduation practices take
place on school time, allowing
faculty in charge to continue to
assist. Advisors to the Junior
and Senior Honor Societies will
prep those students during their
normal workday, and then the
building level principals will
handle the induction cere-
monies.
But plans to cover Class Night,
a yearly event held by the gradu-
ating seniors, who perform skits
and songs as a farewell to their
alma mater, have not been solid-
ified. Traditionally, most of the
seniors participate in the fun-
filled night. Likewise, the sixth
and seventh grade trip to Knoe-
bel's Grove and the freshman
trip to Hershey Park, two non-
academic class trips scheduled
for Saturdays, are proving diffi-
cult to cover.
“It is very difficult for me to as-
sign administrators to work on
Saturday,” Roberts said. “With-
out someone from the school
who has the authority to act on
the school's behalf, it would be
pretty tough to send those trips
out with just parents.”
Roberts emphasized the safety
of the students and finding
enough qualified volunteers. “It’s
pretty difficult to take 100 or
125 kids to Baltimore or New
York City with people who have
not had any type of training in
chaperoning and watching out
for the little tricks the kids like
to play.”
Boytin promises the willing as-
sistance of all nine board mem-
bers, himself included. “Person-
ally, I will take off the necessary
time from work, with vacation
time from my employer, to sup-
port any field trips that these
kids need to go on,” Boytin said.
“If they need a chaperone, I am
available.”
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Board president, union attorney lay out positions
By ELIZABETH ANDERSON
Post Correspondent
After nearly 17 months of ne-
gotiations and the expiration of
their contract in Aug. 2001,
members of the Lake-Lehman
Education Association (LLEA)
feel it is time for the school
board to act.
“The public has to be aware
that the teachers are working
without a contract,” said John
Holland, attorney for the associ-
ation. “Last time they worked
without a contract two years.
The board has to stop this non-
sense once and for all.”
Recently, Charles Boytin,
school board president, an-
swered some of the associa-
tion’s charges, saying, “The
teachers keep screaming all we
want is a contract. We have of-
fered them a contract. They just
don’t want to accept it with the
terms that are in it.”
Boytin praised the caliber of
the Lake-Lehman teachers, but
stressed he had a responsibility
not only to the children and the
teachers, but to the taxpayers
“to hold the line.”
While the school board and
the teachers’ association may
disagree on many things, they
see eye to eye in one area. Both
agree they disagree on two key
topics — health care benefits
and salary increases.
“This is a very simple issue,”
Boytin added. “We just have a
difference of opinion. What they
think is a fair and modest raise
for their contract and the de-
mands they have are not some-
thing that the district sees as
fair and modest.”
The difference of opinion is
about 2 percent. The teachers
are asking for a wage and
salary increase of 4.75 percent
per year over five years. The
district has countered with an
offer of 2.75 percent. “We are
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“Last time they
worked without a
contract two years.
The board has to
stop this nonsense
once and for all.”
John Holland
Attorney for teachers’ union
willing to pay what the average
increase is in other school dis-
tricts in Luzerne County,”
Boytin said. “The last four or
five districts have been in the
2.5 to 2.7 range and we are at
2.75.” Both parties feel their of-
fer is fair and equitable.
According to the Pennsylvania
Department of Education,
teachers were granted average
salary increases in excess of 6
percent for the 11 years prior to
1993-94. A significant down-
turn has occurred since that
time (See Table),
salaries increases never rising
above 5 percent. The PDE at-
tributes this in large part to an
increase in the number of lower
paid, less experienced teachers
due to rising enrollments, re-
duced classroom size and va-
cancies created by teachers who
accepted early retirement in-
centives.
The teachers are looking for
what they once had, according
to Holland. He explained the as-
sociation gave the board nu-
merous concessions in the last
contract settlement three years
ago and that puts the teachers
behind in the game. “Last time,
the teachers took a wage freeze.
They took concessions on
health care and went to a less
expensive health care for new
teachers,” Holland explained.
“They gave up their early retire-
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ment plan. Gave it up totally,”
he went on to say. “We're ask-
ing that it be reinstated.”
According to the board, there
is presently a two-tier health
care insurance system with
some teachers having Blue
Cross/Blue Shield and others a
managed care program. Boytin
said the board is offering a
health care pr ogram and paying
for it 100 percent, a benefit
most of the public does not en-
“It's not like we're saying to
the teachers you get nothing,”
he said. “We're offering them
- health care and we're offering to
pay for that health care.”
Boytin went on to explain his
position. “I don’t see the people
in the general public getting a
4.75 percent pay raise, but I do
see the general public paying
for a lot of their health care
costs that the teachers do not
have to pay for. It does bother
me.”
Holland ended by saying he
wished to “throw down the
gauntlet” to the board mem-
bers. “I challenge them to speak
out publicly at the next board
meeting and say ‘Hey, this isn’t
“It's not like u
saying to the t
ers you get nott
right.” We need to get this con-
tract settled and do the right
thing for our teachers.”
Boytin said he is being realis-
tic, and doing his best to bal-
ance the interests of kids,
teachers, taxpayers and school
needs. “I'm willing to give a pay
raise. I'm willing to pay for your
health care,” he said. “I'm just
not willing to give as much as
you want and pay for as much
as you want for health insur-
ance. I just can’t.”
Average Salaries Of Professional Personnel
In Luzerne County
2001-2002
School District Full-Time Average Salary Rank of 14
Crestwood $57,395 2
Dallas $51,560 12
Greater Naticoke Area $56,771 4
Hanover Area S $55,621 6
Hazelton Area Career Center $50,958 13
Hazelton Area $54,004 10
Lake-Lehman $49,949 14
Northwest Area $54,368 u
Pittston Area $55,658 5
West Side AVTS $51,648 11
Wilkes-Barre Area $58,075 1
Wilkes-Barre Area AVTS $55,431 7
Wyoming Area $54,799 8
Wyoming Valley West $56,944 3
Average for Luzerre County $55,302
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