School Board President Says Both Sides Still Far Apart

The following is a statement released by West Chester School Board President Vince Murphy.

On Wednesday, Aug. 29, the West Chester Area School Board Negotiating Committee met with the West Chester Area Education Association (WCAEA) for a two-hour negotiation session. The union presented the school board with an updated proposal during that meeting. Our business office is in the process of calculating the full cost of the union's two-year proposal.  The latest offer from the union leadership does not come close to meeting the board's financial objectives and would result in tax increases well above the Act 1 Index. We are still far apart on salary, benefits and work rules.

The board offered a fair and reasonable proposal. Our proposal was designed to consider the needs of all of our stakeholders — students, teachers, parents and taxpayers. Our proposal meets all affordability and achievement goals.

We offered salary increases for the first two years and even added a bonus in the third year if the economy improves. We restructured benefits to better reflect what those in our community receive, and introduced some flexibility in the way we work so that we can be more efficient.

I hope that the union leadership takes the time to understand the financial challenges we face and reconsiders the fair, reasonable offer from the board that is on the table. Our next session will be on Wednesday, Sept. 12.