{"id":16175,"date":"2016-04-08T23:58:46","date_gmt":"2016-04-08T23:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/?p=16175"},"modified":"2016-04-08T23:58:46","modified_gmt":"2016-04-08T23:58:46","slug":"blue-ridge-teachers-hold-mini-picket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2016\/04\/08\/blue-ridge-teachers-hold-mini-picket\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Ridge teachers hold mini-picket"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY STACI WILSON<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blue Ridge educators held a mini-picket before the Monday, April 4 school board meeting. Members of the teachers\u2019 union handed out information illustrating their position in the ongoing contract dispute with the district.<\/p>\n

Blue Ridge Education Association president Trish Gilboy said the teachers wanted to make the Association\u2019s side of the story public. BREA initially planned to strike on March 29, but with some progress in negotiations, moved the strike date to April 25.<\/p>\n

With some movement on negotiations in the past month, health care remains one of the main sticking points.<\/p>\n

Gilboy said the teachers do pay into their health care plan, but she said, in the past five years the premium share paid has eaten up teachers\u2019 pay increases.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany teachers have gone five years with no real raise,\u201d Gilboy said, adding that many educators were actually making less money.<\/p>\n

She also noted that the 10 percent paid for health care by Blue Ridge teachers is a higher rate than other districts in Susquehanna and Lackawanna counties.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish we weren\u2019t here. We hope we don\u2019t strike on April 25,\u201d Gilboy said.<\/p>\n

A contract negotiation session between BREA and the board\u2019s negotiation team has been scheduled for next week.<\/p>\n

Blue Ridge resident Jaelynne Goff expressed concern with the status of negotiations. She told the board she believed a fair salary and benefit package could be settled before the strike date.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a vast majority of the teachers and what they do here,\u201d Goff said. \u201cThey love this community and our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

She urged the board to consider moving to a flat rate insurance plan as requested by BREA.<\/p>\n

\u201cA solution needs to be (found) to bring balance back to the district, students and community,\u201d Goff said.<\/p>\n

Board president Chris Lewis said negotiations center around salary and health care. He said the average salary of district residents was about $45,000, while the average teacher in the district is paid $55,000 with no big businesses adding to the tax base.<\/p>\n

Lewis also said negotiations had been dragged out for two years, but the board\u2019s new negotiation team had met with BREA seven times.
\n\u201cWe think the offers have been fair,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n

In other business, the board approved Mary Clinton as the district Athletic Director, effective April 5, for the remainder of the school year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY STACI WILSON Blue Ridge educators held a mini-picket before the Monday, April 4 school board meeting. 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