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A stalemate between the Hollidaysburg Area School District and the union representing about 230 professional staff in the district may come to a head early next week, after the union announced that a vote will be taken Monday on whether to authorize a strike.
The Hollidaysburg Area Education Association made the announcement Thursday, stating that members will vote Monday afternoon on whether to authorize the union's negotiation committee to schedule a strike if needed.
The union said it has not met with Hollidaysburg Area School District's negotiators since the union presented the district a proposal on Sept. 1. As of Oct. 15, the union has not received a counterproposal.
Union negotiators stated that despite meeting more than 10 times since January, progress has been stalled by take-it-or-leave-it proposals from the district's negotiators and a lack of willingness to address concerns brought by educators. Among those concerns is Hollidaysburg's starting salary for educators, which trails significantly behind nearby districts, the union said in a news release.
"Even members of our negotiations committee have had to make the hard choice whether to stay in the district or find employment elsewhere and better provide for their families," said Lindsey DeAntonio, a teacher at C.W. Longer Elementary school and a member of Hollidaysburg Area Education Association.
"We're losing good teachers that would stay here if they could, and our students are the ones that end up suffering the most. Solving that problem is urgent, and the district must treat it like it's urgent," DeAntonio said in a statement.
"This contract needs to take a real step forward for us and our district, and so far, the proposals we've gotten would set us back," said Joshua McClelland, a teacher at Foot of Ten Elementary school and a member of HAEA. "We've compromised throughout the process because we want to settle this at the bargaining table. But that takes commitment to settling it at the table on both sides instead of delays and stall tactics."
The parties do not currently have any scheduled negotiation dates, according to information provided by the union.