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DALLAS TWP. — More than 150 district residents turned out for what was, at times, a heated Dallas School Board meeting Monday night, the day the district’s teachers went on strike.
Back Mountain resident Carol Fronczek wanted to know if the district’s teachers could make a contribution to their health care premiums — she asked if they could pay just 1 cent toward the premiums.
“No,” Dallas Education Association President Mike Cherinka answered.
“Why do you think you are better than all the other professionals who have been paying a portion of their premiums?” Fronczek countered.
“See me after the meeting,” Cherinka said.
All 179 of the district’s teachers attended the meeting, which was held in the high school’s Performing Arts Center. As they entered en masse, some members of the audience applauded.
The teachers had been working without a contract since August 2015. The union is seeking to have the district fund 100 percent of the teachers’ healthcare, new salaries and early retirement incentives.
School board member James Gattuso Jr. said as the contract is right now $525,000 would be needed for salary increases for the 2016-2017 school year. The cost for the district to continue to cover the entire cost of the teachers’ healthcare is $138,989, he said.
Pensions totaling $286,300 are determined by the legislators in Harrisburg and pushed onto school districts to fund, Gattuso told the crowd, adding that early retirement incentives total $150,000.
He said the total of all four expenses is $1,100,289, which would result in a required real estate tax of 5.70 percent.
“This is over what the district can legally raise taxes,” Gattuso said.
Some residents implored teachers to bend their contract demands a little, saying students and their parents are paying the price.
Other residents questioned the school board on how they could let the teachers’ contract reach this point.
“Dallas has not gone on one strike for nearly 50 years,” one resident said. “That is your legacy.”
