Public school teachers who work full time for their collective bargaining agency would be barred from remaining on their district’s payroll under a bill approved by the Senate Education Committee last week.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association opposes Senate Bill 494 bill in its current form, said Wythe Keever, PSEA spokesman.

“It’s never been a problem for districts or unions,” he said. “(The bill) is a solution in search of a problem.”

SB494 is sponsored by Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Fayette.

Current law allows a collective bargaining agreement between a union and a school district to include work arrangements for union leave.

In Philadelphia, at least 18 teachers who never set foot in a classroom last year received more than $1.7 million from the school district while performing union work during school hours, according to a legislative memo.

In Pittsburgh, those employees have received up to $1.02 million annually, the memo states. But it also notes that the unions have reimbursed those two districts for much of these costs.

Nonetheless, the bill would ban union release time regardless of whether the employer is reimbursed for compensation because the state is still required to make its contributions to cover the pensions of teachers on union leave and has spent more than $1 million for that since 2000, according to the memo.

Union leave has not been a provision that Blair County teachers require.

“I don’t think this legislation will impact us,” Holli­days­burg Area Education Association President Jim Murphy said.

The bigger city unions have presidents devoted fully to union work, but Murphy is a full-time high school English teacher. He gets two periods per day for union work instead of study halls.

“It is a planning time. Often the superintendent can come and talk to me about issues,” he said.

Keever said the statewide union has a small number of its larger local member districts that have full-time union officers, but the reason for the union leave is simple, he said.

“It’s difficult for a teacher in a large geographical district to have to work in a classroom and leave to go represent a member of the bargaining unit in individual matters. It becomes problematic to juggle the responsibility and be a full-time teacher,” he said. “Full-time release officers also work together with administration on school safety, parental engagement and curriculum issues. This is one more attempt by the GOP to make it more difficult for unions representing teachers to conduct business.”

The bill defines union leave as full or partial compensation or benefits from an employer for more than three consecutive weekdays or 30 total weekdays each school year for the purpose of service with an employee organization.

The bill would amend the school code so that no collective bargaining agreement or contract between an employee organization and school district, renewed or extended may permit full-time union leave for an employee or allow an employee to continue to accrue benefits, seniority or service credit.

The only exception is for a collective bargaining agreements entered into prior to the date the law would go into effect.

“During an era of tight budgets and taxpayer concerns over increasing education costs, it is imperative that teachers on a school district’s payroll actually be in a classroom, teaching students,” Sen. John H. Eichelberger Jr., R-Blair, stated in a press release. “By banning this provision in collective bargaining agreements, this legislation will ensure a more effective use of public school resources and funds.”

Eichelberger chairs the Senate Education Committee.

The bill still requires approval by the Senate and House and the governor’s signature to become law.