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Crestwood Teachers, School District Fail to Ink Deal

Posted on: Friday, 12 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

Aug. 12--PLAINS TWP. -- Negotiators for the Crestwood Education Association and the school district fell short of agreeing on a teachers contract once again Thursday night.

After nearly 2 ½ hours, school board members quickly left the Pennsylvania State Education Association building. The school board's chief negotiator, Bruce Campbell, said the board has no comment on the negotiations.

Approximately 160 teachers and other union members have been working under the terms of the old contract since it expired on Aug. 31, 2002. Since then, teachers' wages have been frozen. CEA representatives said the starting salary has been the same since 1995, at $25,850, which is the lowest in Luzerne County.

"We're certainly not greedy to be sitting this long on salaries like that," said Dennis Zurawski Jr., a member of the union negotiation team.

Crestwood association representatives said they have worked every day during contract negotiations.

"I think this group has been exceptionally patient," said PSEA negotiator John Holland.

Holland said the school board was given a proposal on July 7. Holland said he was expecting a counterproposal Thursday. "Unfortunately the school district came unprepared without a counter proposal."

Holland said the main issues of the contact remain to be health care and wages. Holland suggested the school district join the Northeast Pennsylvania School Districts Health Trust. Instead of saving $140,000 in health-care costs as the district wants, joining the trust iwould save $234,759 the first year, he said.

"Right now the teachers have already paid for their health care in the past by lower wages," Holland said.

Holland said the district wants lower salary increases and also contribute to health care.

"That's just the district double dipping."

Another date for collective bargaining has not been set. Campbell said a date will be set after members of the school board, a representative from the health consortium and the school board health-care consultant have met. That meeting has not been scheduled.

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Source: The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

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